












































































THE BEGINNER’S 
ENGLISH BOOK 


FOR THE USE OF 
ADULT STUDENTS 


By MARY E. NOLIN 

Supervisor of Evening Elementary Schools and Head 
Teacher of Adult Foreigners at the 
Grant School, Pittsburgh 


Pittsburgh 

THE CRESCENT PRESS 
19 2 2 


Copyright, 1921 
Copyright, 1922 
by 

MARY E. NOLIN 


PREFACE. 


The object of this hook is to present in convenient 
form matter for teaching adult foreigners the con¬ 
structions of English sentences and for teaching them 
at the same time an English vocabulary of the kind 
required by beginners. 

There being no necessary logical arrangement, 
the chief usages of English speech are presented 
in the order that seems best adapted to the require¬ 
ments of teaching. The matter of the book has 
been arranged so that each lesson shall introduce 
only one new feature, apart of course from new words, 
and at the same time shall repeat, in forms varying to 
meet the requirements of drill, words and construc¬ 
tions previously learned. 

The thought expressed by the English sentences 
used in the first two parts of the book can be readily 
communicated to the pupils by the use of objects, 
gestures, motions, and signs, and always should be so 
communicated when being presented for the first 
time. In the early stages of the instruction many 
of the most important processes of learning oral 
and written speech must of necessity take place in 
the presence of the teacher and under her immediate 
observation and control. While these are going on, 
however, the teacher need utter no words, and in¬ 
deed Should utter none, except what are required 
to make the original utterance of the English phrase 
or sentence that is being taught, and except what are 
necessary afterward to repeat it from time to time at 
the proper moment in order to correct the learner’s 
pronunciation and to reinforce his new impression. 
If the recitation is rightly conducted, no talk by the 
teacher is ever required to arouse interest or hold! 
attention. Oral explanations and suggestions made 


iv 


PREFACE 


while the main objects of the lesson are the center of 
attention may be dispensed with altogether; and if 
offered, they usually come as a distraction and a 
distinct hindrance to learning. But the zealous 
teacher particularly, although she may know this, 
often finds it difficult to refrain from attempting such 
assistance. So important is it, indeed, to avoid divert¬ 
ing and confusing the learner’s attention at this time 
that the lack of a convenient medium of oral com¬ 
munication between the teacher and the learner seems 
to be, on the whole, not a hindrance, but an aid to 
teaching; it helps to keep the teacher quiet while these 
important learning processes are going on, and results 
in allowing the learner’s attention to be riveted to the 
thought and English expression alone. Accordingly 
the direct route to the end aimed at in the first stage 
of the instruction is through thought suitable to teach¬ 
ing, exhibited by means of concrete acts without com¬ 
ment. 

In <the matter of the selection of words, the aim has 
been to present the necessary elements of vocabulary 
that are common to all kinds of discourse rather than 
to introduce an elaborate array of special nouns and 
verbs, for which the beginner is sometimes supposed to* 
have an immediate and urgent need. The book is in¬ 
tended to lead up to and make a slight beginning at 
using continuous discourse, written and oral, as a 
means of further study of English. The first two 
parts, which are preliminary to the use of continuous 
discourse, can be learned in a comparatively short 
lime, say from six weeks to two months. Con¬ 
sequently it has been thought best not to overstress 
nouns and verbs at the expense of relational words. 
It is interesting and worth while in this connection to 
recollect that while relational words are only a com¬ 
paratively small part of English vocabulary, yet of 
all the words found in a given piece of ordinary 


PREFACE 


v 


English discourse, relational words constitute some¬ 
thing like sixty per cent of the whole. And there is 
of course no such thing as adequately comprehend¬ 
ing the commonest kind of such discourse without 
understanding them. Moreover there seems to be no 
way to effect a speedy preparation for the use of 
continuous discourse by the learner except through 
a prompt presentation of at least the rudiments of the 
relational elements of the language. 

The ideas of teaching which these lessons attempt 
to express are a result of the experience of some six 
years occupied with teaching beginning English to 
adult foreigners. In the introductory chapter will 
be found some detailed observations in the form of 
suggestions for teaching the lessons. These suggestions 
are put in concrete and specific terms for the sake 
of clearness and brevity, and in the hope that, thus 
expressed, they may in a measure take the place of 
a class-room demonstration from which the reader 
may draw his own particular conclusions about methods 
of teaching. There is no intention of insisting upon 
as essential all of the details of the teaching procedure 
illustrated. It is a fact, however, that lessons arrang¬ 
ed on the plan of this book do afford a speedy and 
effective introduction to the use of continuous dis¬ 
course, and without requiring any special gift for 
teaching, enable the teacher to hold interest and atten¬ 
tion and to keep them fixed where they do most good. 
Even pupils who are permitted to continue their study 
of English in school for only a short time take with 
them when they leave a benefit from the fact that they 
have been taught systematically in the manner required 
by such lessons as these. For afterwards, when they 
come to learn a new sentence or sense-group or word 
by their own efforts without the assistance of a 


VI 


PREFACE 


teacher, they \re able to go about it intelligently; they 
easily and naturally, without any thought about it, 
attend to significant distinctions and make useful 
discriminations in the act of learning that would have 
escaped them, if their brief instruction had not been 
systematic and methodical in the sense suggested. 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 
September 21 , 1921 . 


CONTENTS 


Preface . iji 

Introductory note for the teacher . xi 

Some suggestions of an explicit kind for teaching 

the first lesson . xi 

Suggestions for teaching the second and the follow¬ 
ing lessons in Part One. xvi 

Suggestions for teaching the lessons in Part Two.. xv ii 
Suggestions for teaching the lessons in Part Three., xviii 

Phonetics . xx 

Interrogative sentences . xxii 

Suggestions for drill in the use-of interrogative 

sentences . xxii 

Suggestions for further exercises after the book has 

been completed . xxv 

PART ONE 

Lesson 

I On the Book, and Other Phrases . 5 

II Adjectives . 6 

III A Piece Of . 7 

IV Personal Pronouns . g 

V A Piece of Cotton Cloth. io 

VI Tin Box, Wooden Box, Paper Box . 12 

VII On the End of the Table . 13 

VIII Put It, Put Them . 15 

IX Each, Inch, Edge, All, Whole . 16 

X This, That These, Those . 18 

XI Possessive Pronouns . 19 

XII Personal Pronouns Following the Preposition 

To . 21 

XIII Not, But .22 

XIV There Is . 24 

XV Here, There . 25 

XVI Interrogatives . 26 

XVII Possessive Pronouns Used Without Nouns.. 28 

XVIII Interrogatives . 30 

PART TWO 

I Verbs: Present Tense, Imperative and Inter¬ 
rogative Forms . 33 

II Future Tense, Expressions of Futurity, In¬ 
finitives . 35 

III Names of the Days of the Week, and Times 

of Day . 37 

IV Past Tense . 38 

V Names of the Months. 41 
































CONTENTS 


VI Common Questions About Persons .. 43 

VII A Friendly Letter . 44 

VIII Before, After . 45 

IX Near, Far . 46 

X Partitive Expressions . 4 7 

XI Present Participles in Progressive Forms... 48 
XII Interrogatives . 50 

XIII Practice Exercises . 52 

XIV The Different-Difference Perplexity . 54 

XV Common Measures . 55 

XVI Past Participles . 56 

XVII Distinction Between Sit and Set. 58 

XVIII The Use of If . 60 

XIX The Use of Whether . 61 

XX The Verb Use, The Noun Use . 62 

XXI Leaf, Leaves, Live, Lived, Die, Died, Dead, 

Death . 63 

XXII As . 64 

XXIII As....As, So.As . 65 

XXIV Correlatives ... 67 

XXV Fill, Full, Feel . 68 

XXVI Let . 69 

XXVII Know, Knowledge . 70 

XXVIII Lie, Lay . 71 

XXIX Positive and Comparative Forms of Adjec¬ 
tives . 72 

XXX The Use of Superlatives . 74 

XXXI More, Most . 75 

XXXII Whom .76 

XXXIII Contractions and Negative Sentences. 77 

XXXIV When, Where, While, During . 78 

XXXV Adjectives and Adverbs . 80 

XXXVI What, That ... 81 

XXXVII Impersonal Use of It, It As An Expletive.. 82 

XXXVIII Active and Passive Voice . 83 

XXXIX Idiomatic Use and Omission of To . 84 

XL Relative Pronouns . 85 

XLI Verbal Nouns in -ing . 87 

XLII Pas/t Participles Used as Adjectives, Infiini- 

tives Used as Nouns . 88 

XLIII Words, Phrases, and Clauses Used as Modi¬ 
fiers . 89 

XLIV Cognate Objects . 90 

XLV Phrases Having the Office of Prepositions... 91 
XLVI Derivatives . 93 









































CONTENTS 


XLVII Some Idiomatic Expressions . 95 

XLVIII Characteristic Verbs . 99 

XLIX A Business Letter . i . 100 

part three 

I The Dog and The Shadow . 102 

II The Crow and The Pitcher . 103 

III A Father and His Sons . 103 

IV Hercules and The Wagoner . 104 

V The Fox and The Crow . 104 

VI The North Wind and The Sun . 105 

VII The Man, The Boy, and The Donkey . 106 

VIII Buying A Suit . 107 

IX A Call On James Sotos . 108 

X Economy . 109 

XI Directions for Finding One’s Way . no 

XII Renting a Room .. in 

XIII John Vanos . 113 

XIV Familiar Quotations . 114 

XV Christopher Columbus . 115 

XVI Henry Hudson . 117 

XVII The Pilgrims . 119 

XVIII Benjamin Franklin . 120 

XIX George Washington . 122 

XX Abraham Lincoln . 124 

XXI President Lincoln’s Letter to Mrs. Bixby. 127 

XXII Preamble to The Constitution of The United 

States . 127 

XXIII America . 128 

XXIV Star Spangled Banner . 129 

APPENDIX 

Numerals . 13 2 

Numerical Expressions and Signs ... 133 

Common Weights and Measures . 135 

Adjectives and Adverbs of Irregular Comparison . 136 

Personal Pronouns . r 37 

Principal Parts and Conjugation of Verb Write . 137 

Principal parts and Conjuagtion of Verb To Be . 139 

List of Verbs . * 4 ° 






































■ 

' ■ 

■ 








. 

■ 




‘ 




































-“'J 




v- 






■ 

: 












■ 










■ 

- 




INTRODUCTORY NOTE FOR THE TEACHER. 


SOME SUGGESTIONS OF AN EXPLICIT KIND FOR TEACHING 
THE FIRST LESSON. 

The teacher, having on the table the objects men¬ 
tioned in the first lesson, takes a pencil in her hand, and 
without releasing it, places it successively on the book, 
into the book, beside the book, and under the book, 
thus communicating to the pupil without ambig¬ 
uity very simple and very definite pieces of meaning. 
At the proper moments as she does so, the teacher 
utters the appropriate English phrases, ‘on the 
book/ ‘into the book/ and so on, clearly, distinctly, 
and so far as is possible with the same voice qualities 
(such as quantity, stress, and intonation) as though 
the utterances were parts of continous discourse. 
The teacher then repeats this performance several 
times, in order that the pupils may have ample op¬ 
portunity to listen to the teacher’s utterances and to 
observe the movements of her speech organs. In 
repeating the phrases the teacher should be careful to 
make the utterances the same each time (a difficult 
thing to do) so as to reinforce the original impressions 
and not confuse the pupil. She then uses other ob¬ 
jects, but not many, to teach similar phrases, indicat¬ 
ing the meaning and uttering the phrases as before, 
until the class has had ample opportunity to grasp the 
general senses that run through all the phrases"men¬ 
tioned in the lesson. 

* At this point of the instruction the teacher, return¬ 
ing to the first phrase, indicates the meaning and utters 
the corresponding English phrase as she did at the 
beginning. Then, giving the direction by gesture, she 
indicates to one of the class (not to all) that he shall 
utter the phrase. It is important that the teacher 


INTRODUCTORY NOTE 


xii 

should give the directions by signs, and not orally as 
by using the word ‘say/ because almost invariably the 
beginner will give back the whole of what he hears. 
Besides, the variation serves no purpose and comes as 
a distraction to the beginner. 

The consciousness of a learner in the act of 
learning is a delicate thing, and can tolerate little dis- 
tuibance. Whatever assistance the teacher may offer 
must be given delicately and with deft precision. 

After a little practice at listening to phrases and 
reproducing them, the class is ready to attack a complete 
sentence. As a preliminary, the teacher teaches 
them her own name in some such way as this: pointing 
successively to two or three members of the class and 
pronouncing their names at the same time, she then 
points to herself, and pronounces her own name, 

‘Miss -— / Then she lays a pencil on the book 

and removes her hand. After removing it, she utters 

the complete sentence, ‘Miss-put a pencil on the 

book/ As she finishes the utterance, she indicates 
by a gesture to the first pupil that he shall reproduce 
it; then to the second, and so on around the class. If 
some member of the class, failing to make a satisfac¬ 
tory response, hesitates too long or gropes around for 
words, the teacher should repeat the sentence for him 
at once. 

This is no place to discuss the psychology of the 
learning process, but for the teacher here to ask 
some question, or make some explanation, or do 
anything else than simply to renew and reinforce the 
learner’s imperfect impression by a prompt repetition 
of the sentence is a waste of time and worse. As 
has been wisely observed long ago, “To every thing 
there is a season, and a time to every purpose under 
the heaven : . . .a time to rend, and a time to sew ; a 

time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” ( Eccles .) 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE 


xiii 


After the class has learned a few complete affirm¬ 
ative sentences in this way, the interrogative sentence 

'What did Miss - do?’ is taught. The teacher 

presenting the meaning of the affirmative sentence in the 
manner above described, follows the motions and signs 

by the words, ‘Miss-put a pencil on the table. 

What did Miss-do ?inviting by a gesture an 

answer from one of the pupils, the teacher continues: 

‘Miss - put a pencil on the table/ The pupil 

addressed responds readily with the answer ‘Miss-- 

put a pencil on the table/ The teacher then again 

utters the question ‘What did Miss-do?’ (with a 

gesture directing the pupil addressed to ask the ques¬ 
tion to the next pupil). This elicits a repetition of 
the words spoken, and at the same time teaches him 
that he has asked a question. 

The chief reason for teaching the interrogative 
sentence at this early stage is that it may be used in 
recitations as a means of passing affirmative sentences 
from one pupil to another. 

After several affirmative sentences have been 
thoroughly taught, the teacher develops one of the 
sentences again, in the same manner as originally, for 

example, ‘Miss-put a book on the table/ and has 

all the members of the class reproduce it orally in turn. 
Then reinforcing once more the new impression, she 

again utters the sentence, ‘Miss-put a book on the 

table,’ and by gesture indicates that all the pupils are 
to write it on the blackboard. 

The teacher may not know whether all the pupils 
can write or not. She should waste no time, how¬ 
ever, in trying to find out, but should assume that 
all can write. Many will in fact make a fair attempt 
from the start. After a few lessons, as experience 
shows, most of the others will be found to be writing 
in a satisfactory manner. It is a waste of time to 
show the pupils the written or printed form of the sen- 









XIV 


INTRODUCTORY NOTE 


tence before having them attempt to write it. What¬ 
ever assistance may be called for can readily be given 
to the individuals who need it. As the pupils are 
Writing at the board, the teacher passes along and with¬ 
out speaking makes corrections. For those who are 
not writing and who know the alphabet, but lack 
the courage to try the spelling, she writes ‘on the book’, 
uttering the phrase after it is written, and leaves them 
to copy it. For those who do not know the alphabet, 
she draws the conventional writing lines, and on them 
writes the loop letters, b,f ,h,k, and 1, leaving the pupils 
to copy these. After sufficient time has been given for 
all to write, the teacher (adhering to the practice of 
confining oral directions to the briefest) utters no more 
than the words, ‘Erase, turn.’ 

The writing lesson for that sentence is now ended. 
Whatever shortcomings the writing may have dis¬ 
closed will be dealt with at another time. In a 
few days most of the pupils, in one way and an¬ 
other, will make up their deficiences in writing 
themselves with only incidental assistance from the 
teacher. But for the present the lesson goes on to 
other exercises, and all attend. 

The teacher utters the sentence again for the pur¬ 
pose of reinforcing the learners’ mental impression, 
and giving her directions by gesture in the usual way, 
has each pupil in turn reproduce it orally. 

In the case of classes that learn readily, it is 
sometimes admissible to develop and teach in the same 
way a few sentences in addition to those given in the 
book, using for the purpose the same and other objects, 
and thus extend the learners’ experience." No ad¬ 
ditional sentence constructions, however, and no new 
relational words should be used at this time. 

After the class has had sufficient practice at listen¬ 
ing to sentences and reproducing them orally, the 
teacher reads the corresponding lesson in the book 


INTRODUCTORY NOTE 


xv 


aloud to the pupils, who follow the reading with their 
books open. 

Next the pupils are left to study for awhile as 
they please. Afterward the teacher reads the lesson to 
them again. Later each pupil reads aloud as 
many sentences as time permits. If anyone should 
read too laboriously, he is not permitted to con¬ 
tinue, but waits for more study and more oral and 
written drill. 

Word by word reading must not be tolerated. 
The pupil’s reading should approximate proceeding by 
sense-groups and sentences as natural speech does. 
In this way the pupils begin to acquire the natural 
swing and rhythm of the language, so important for 
many reasons. 

Nor can concert work, as a short cut or sort of 
mass-instruction, be used with profit at this time, if at 
any time. The reasons are obvious. To mention 
faulty utterances only: one pupil fails to reproduce 
the sounds that have been presented to him, because he 
did not hear them correctly—perhaps he has not yet 
learned to distinguish the minute sound differences in¬ 
volved ; another fails because, although he received 
the correct sound-impression, he has not succeeded in 
adjusting his speech organs rightly. But with whatever 
result the utterance is made, whether rightly or 
not, both the pupil himself and the teacher should 
hear it. If the pupil is successful, he has the sound of 
his own voice as an added factor in helping to fix the 
new utterance. And if he fails, both must hear 
distinctly, in order that together they may make the 
correction at once, when it is most needed and can be 
made with greatest effect. It is, besides, a saving of 
time to stop the formation of wrong speech-habits at 
the earliest moment. Concert work is a positive bar 
to these good effects as well as to others. 


XVI 


INTRODUCTORY NOTE 


To state again in outline the teaching procedure 
suggested: 

1. The teacher expresses appropriate meaning by 
the use of objects, motions, and signs. 

2. She utters an equivalent English sentence, clear¬ 
ly, distinctly, and naturally. 

3. Each pupil in turn reproduces the English utter¬ 
ance. 

4. The teacher again utters the sentence. 

5. All the pupils write the sentence on ithe black¬ 
board. 

6. The teacher makes corrections in writing. 

7. After all have erased the sentence from the 
blackboard, the teacher utters the sentence 
again. 

8. Each pupil reproduces the sentence orally. 

9. After all the sentences have been so presented 
and taught, the pupils open their books for the 
first time, and listen while the teacher reads 
the sentences from the book. 

10. The pupils in succession read the sentences 
from the book. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING THE SECOND AND THE 
FOLLOWING LESSONS IN PART ONE. 

In order to enable the pupils to add the English 
equivalents of the ideas, ‘long’ and ‘short/ to what 
they have already learned, the teacher takes a long 
pencil in one hand and a short pencil in the 
other, and after letting them see her compare 
the lengths of the two pencils by holding them to¬ 
gether, holds up the long pencil and utters the phrase, 
‘a long pencil / then holding up the short pencil, she 
utters the phrase, ‘a short pencil/ She does not utter 


INTRODUCTORY NOTE 


xvn 


merely the words ‘long/ ‘short’ alone, and she spends 
no time in elucidating the meanings of these words 
as words, but without discussion or comment of any 
kind, she puts the long pencil into the long box and 

then utters the complete sentence, ‘Miss - put 

a long pencil into the long box/ Here, as generally, 
in uttering the sentence, she is careful to make the 
utterance correct as a whole. She makes no separa¬ 
tion of words in the sentence, but runs them together 
in succession as syllables in a word, using intonation, 
pause, and stress to distinguish sense-groups and to 
express the natural emphasis required in the sentence. 

The teacher then drills the class on the sentence 
in the manner set forth in detail and outlined in dis¬ 
cussing the teaching of the first lesson. All the rest of 
the sentences in the second lesson are taught in the 
same way. 

So, substantially, are taught all the lessons in the 
book. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING THE LESSONS IN PART TWO, 

The method of procedure for teaching Part Two 
is in the main the same as that used in teaching Part One 
Here, however, the use of objects, motions, and signs 
to convey meaning is gradually discontinued. In 
this part of the book verbs are an important part of 
the study. The distinctions of person and number 
require no comment here. The uses of tenses are 
taught, not formally, but by means of examples, and 
with them the use of time expressions. In accordance 
with the suggestions previously made about conveying 
meaning without the distraction of oral explanations 
by the teacher, the distinctions of time may be con¬ 
veniently taught by using the calendar. 

In this part of the book some of the lessons have 
printed with them lists of verbs, marked ‘Reference 
matter for the learner/ Each of these lists the pupil 



xviii 


INTRODUCTORY NOTE 


will attempt to use only after he has been taught die 
practice exercise that accompanies it; he can make no 
profitable use of it before. 

At this stage of the learner’s experience, letter 
writing is a useful exercise. Accordingly a specimen 
friendly letter is printed in the book. The learner 
will compose letters himself, using the specimen merely 
as a pattern. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING THE LESSONS IN PART 
THREE. 

THE FIRST FABLE. 

After the pupils have studied the fable for awhile 
in their books, the teacher, without discussion or 
comment, reads it to them, while they follow the read¬ 
ing with their books open. Next each pupil reads 
the entire fable aloud. The teacher makes no inter¬ 
ruptions except to correct pronunciation. 

The pupils will not yet have succeeded in under¬ 
standing all of the meaning. What their deficiencies 
are the teacher will be able to judge pretty well from 
her knowledge of what they have already learned in 
the preceding lessons, from the questions they ask, and 
somehow from their general behavior during the oral 
reading. 

In order to assist them further with the meaning, 
she sends all to the blackboard and dictates sentences 
to them. The first sentence or two, improvised at 
the time or previously thought out and containing some 
difficult word or construction found in the lesson, 
should have no connection in meaning with the text, 
and should be the simplest the teacher is able to invent. 
In this particular text, the phrase, ‘was carrying/ will 
probably be the first difficult thing. So the teacher may 
dictate some such sentence as this: ‘John was carrying 
his book home to read it to his brother/ This sentence 


INTRODUCTORY NOTE 


xix 


and all others used for this purpose she teaches as 
the roughly as any in the previous exercises, following 
the ordinary method of procedure, always ending with 
the oral reproduction. After giving one or two sen¬ 
tences unconnected in meaning with the fable, the 
teacher gives a sentence that is related in meaning and 
construction with the text. Sometimes she uses the 
very sentence in which the difficulty occurs. 

After sufficient drill of this kind, the pupils are 
once more permitted to study the fable. A few 
minutes later the teacher reads it aloud to the class, 
who with their improved understanding of the text are 
now eager to listen. Since the utterances of the 
teacher are the learner’s models of expression, begin¬ 
ners receive much benefit from hearing the teacher 
read continuous discourse with the meaning of which 
they are familiar. Each pupil is now required to 
tell the fable in his own way, the others being permitted 
to study in the meantime. The teacher does not 
interrupt the pupil while lie is telling the fable. If 
his reproduction proves unsatisfactory, he is permitted 
to study more and try again at a later time. Such 
an opportunity, if needed, the pupil himself almost 
always requests. After the pupils have all told the 
fable, each writes it on paper. It may be here stated 
generally that all these exercises connected with the 
learning of continuous discourse are found to be in¬ 
tensely interesting to the pupils, and no lack of atten¬ 
tion is ever encountered. 

All of the other lessons in P\art Three are taught 
in substantially the same manner. 


XX 


INTRODUCTORY NOTE 


PHONETICS. 

Instruction in phonetics, of necessity, will be quite 
rudimentary; no formal lessons will probably be given. 
But the teacher should make every effort in her power 
to secure correct pronunciation from the start, and 
should herself have as much knowledge of phonetics 
as possible in the background. But it is believed 
that pronunciation is best taught by the teacher’s mak¬ 
ing careful utterances, being careful at the same time 
to make them natural utterances, and by her insisting 
pn the pupil’s making substantially correct reproduc¬ 
tions a sufficient number of times to establish them, 
accepting from the very start no slipshod results. In 
various places throughout the book, but particularly at 
the beginning, some of the words and phrases used 
have been put in specially on account of phonetic con¬ 
siderations. Examples of these in the first lesson are 
the words bottle and pan, pen, and pin. 

When listening and observation fail to enable 
the learner to make the proper adjustments of his 
speech organs, the teacher must resort to some 
more detailed instruction. Sometimes a rough 
diagramatic sketch on the blackboard is enough to 
help the learner over the difficulty. For example, a few 
lines may be drawn to picture the mouth wide open 
in pronouncing the vowel of the word pan; the 
line:, may diverge less to picture the mouth a little 
more closed as in pronouncing pen; still less, to illus¬ 
trate the position for uttering the vowel in the word 
pin. The most important thing, however, is that both 
teacher and pupil persevere at some kind of practice 
exercise until the difficulty is removed. 

Different racial groups have their own peculiar 
difficulties. Alliterative nonsense sentences may some¬ 
time be used in removing these. A few are printed 
below, 


INTRODUCTORY NOTE 


xxi 


th 

There are three trees in the garden. 

You cannot sew that thin cloth with that thick 
thread. 

Thirty-three thirsty thrushes thrust their heads 
through the bushes in the thicket. 

My mother’s other brother has a broader board. 

h 

Hannah has Hatfie’s hood in her hand. 

Hurry home, Harry, Henry has his horse here 
for you. 

w 

What a white woolen waist Wilda wears! 

Why will William and Walter wait at the win¬ 
dow ? 

f v 

He paid five dollars for his fife. 

tie 

Little Myrtle Riddle put a griddle in the middle 
of the table. 

ter 

Peter, the butter is better, but the water is bitter. 

s s(z) 

This is his business. 


-ing -ink 

I think he will bring that thing and fling it over 
the brink. 

Voiceless consonants followed by -ed 
They watched and walked and talked, and talked 
and walked and watched. 


xxii INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES. 

Interrogative sentences are an important form of 
discourse, and present special difficulties to the 
beginner, who finds his main difficulty in forming a 
question himself, not in understanding one that is 
asked by somebody else. The teacher should see 
that the pupils have daily drill in asking questions as 
well as in answering them. In exercises devised for 
this purpose, after a question has once been formed 
no deviation in the form of it should be permitted at 
that time; and the teacher will make sure that all 
answers are given in complete sentences. A reason for 
adhering to the form fixed upon is that deviations are 
bewildering to beginners to an extent hard for an ex¬ 
perienced person to appreciate. Besides, one form of 
question is as much as beginners can profitably attempt 
to learn at one time. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR DRILL IN THE USE OF INTERROGATIVE 
SENTENCES. 

i. Teacher to John (indicating at the same time by 

gesture that John is to ask the question to 

Henry) : What is your name? 

John to Henry : What is your name ? 

Teacher to Henry (indicating by gesture that he 
is to answer John) : My name is Henry Black. 

Henry to John: My name is Henry Black. 

By gesture the teacher directs each pupil to ask 
the question to the next pupil, until all have both asked 
and answered the question. 

Other questions for practice of this kind: 

Where do you live ? 

What is that? (pointing to an object) 

Why do you come to school ? 

What is the name of this school ? 


INTRODUCTORY NOTE xx iU 

2. After placing a box and a number of smaller 
articles on the table, and as she indicates by 
gesture that John is to ask the question to Henry, 
the teacher says: What shall I put into the box ? 
John to Henry: What shall I put into the box? 
Teacher to Henry (as she indicates that he is to 

answer John) : You may put a pen into the box. 

Henry to John : You may put a pen into the box. 
The teacher indicates that each in turn is to ask 
the same question to Henry until each pupil has put 
something into the box. 

Other questions for use in the same way: 

What shall I do ? 

Where shall I put my book? 

When shall I come? 

What shall I tell her? 

3 . Teacher to John (after giving him a book, and 
as she indicates by gesture that he is to ask the 

question to Henry) : Did Miss - give me a 

box? 

John to Henry: Did Miss-give me a box ? 

Teacher to Henry (as she indicates that he is to 
answer John) : No, she did not give you a box, but 
she gave you a book. 

Henry to John: No, she did not give you a box, 
but she gave you a book. 

The teacher indicates by gesture that the ques¬ 
tion and answer are to be passed from one member of 
the class to another, until all have asked and answered 
it. 

Other questions for use in this way: 

Did Miss - speak to him in the Greek lan¬ 

guage? 

Ans: No, she did not., but. 

English language. 






XXIV 


INTRODUCTORY NOTE 


Do you sit at the end of the table? 

Ans: No, I do not. ...... but. .... .. .side of 

the table. 


4 - 


Teacher to John: 
John: 

Teacher to John: 
John to Henry: 
Henry: 

Teacher to John: 


What time is it? 

It is 8 o’clock. 

Ask Henry what time it is. 
What time is it ? 

It is 8 o’clock. 

Tell Henry to ask Mary what 
time it is. 


John to Henry: Ask Mary what time it is. 
Henry to Mary: What time is it ? 

Mary: It is 8 o’clock. 

Teacher to Henry:Tell Mary to ask Jane what 
time it is. 


Have these questions passed to all the members 
of the class, in the same manner. 

Other questions for use in this way: 

Where did John buy his book? 

Where did Bessie put the box of pencils? 

Who came in just now? 

These exercises have been found of great value. 
They easily keep the attention of all the class centered 
on the precise point of difficulty, afford variety enough 
to hold attention, and ait the same time leave the 
teacher free to attend solely to the matter of making 
prompt verbal corrections in the language used by the 
pupils. 




INTRODUCTORY NOTE 


XXV 


SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER EXERCISES AFTER THE BOOK 
HAS BEEN COMPLETED. 

There should be much reading aloud of con¬ 
tinuous discourse upon a variety of subjects, in order 
to widen the vocabulary. 

The pupils should be required frequently to pre¬ 
pare papers and to give short talks on subjects pre¬ 
viously assigned. 

Conversational exercises may now for the first 
time, it is believed, be used to advantage. 

Practice at writing sentences from dictation 
and making oral reproductions should be continued. 
'The sentences used may be much longer and harder 
(than heretofore, and several may be given together as 
a bit of continuous discourse. 

Material for study may be given in the form of 
lists of words. But words must be given in their 
simplest forms, in order that the pupils may easily 
find the meanings in their Foreign-English diction¬ 
aries, The pupils should make both oral and written 
sentences, from derivatives as well as from the words 
given in the lists. Meanings of words should still 
be taught by using them in sentences, and not bv 
means of verbal explanations. 


Alphabet 


A a Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii 
J j K k LI Mm Nn O o Pp Q q Rr 
Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 


Numerals 


o 

i 

2 

3 

4 

naught 

one 

two 

three 

four 

.5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

five 

six 

seven 

eight 

nine 





































































/' 

V 
















w 














' 





























































































PART 






\ 


ONE 














THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

LESSON I 
On the Book, and Other Phrases 


on the book 

on the box 
on the bottle 
on the basket 
on the pan 
on the table 

into the book 
into the box 
into the bottle 
into the basket 
into the pan 


under the book 
under the box 
under the bottle 
under the basket 
under the pan 
under the table 

beside the book 
beside the box 
beside the bottle 
beside the basket 
beside the pan 


1. What did Miss Miller do? 

Miss Miller put a book on the table. 

2. What did Miss Miller do? 

Miss Miller put a pencil into the box. 

3. What did Miss Miller do? 

Miss Miller put a paper under the box. 

4. What did Miss Miller do? 

Miss Miller put a pan beside the box. 

5. What did Miss Miller do? 

Miss Miller put a pan, a pen, and a pin into 
the box. 


How do you do? 



6 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


6. What did Miss Miller do? 

Miss Miller put a book and a pan on the 
table beside the box, and a pencil and a pen 
on the table beside the basket. 


LESSON II 
Adjectives 

big long black red 

little short white green 

1. What did Miss Miller do? 

Miss Miller put a long pencil into the long 
box. 

2. Miss Miller put a short pencil into the short 
box. 

3. Miss Miller put a little nail on the table be¬ 
side the box. 

4. Miss Miller put a little black book under 
the little white paper. 

5. Miss Miller put a red pen, a green book, 
and a white box beside the basket. 

6. Miss Miller put a little box on the table, a 
long pencil into the box, and a short pencil 
under the box. 


Good morning. 



THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


7 


7. Miss Miller put a long white box on the 
table and a short green pencil into the box. 

8. William put a short red paper under the 
little blue book and a long white paper 
under the green book. 

9. John put a short pencil beside the big 
basket, a long white pencil into the white 
box, and a short red pen into the book. 

10. Mary put a big box on the table, a little 
box on the chair, and a little basket on the 
window-sill. 

11. Jane put a little red book on the table be¬ 
side the green book and a long box on the 
table under the green book. 


LESSON III 
A Piece Of 


a piece of paper 
a piece of string 
a piece of wood 
a piece of glass 
a piece of leather 


a piece of cloth 
a piece of rubber 
a piece of wire 
a piece of coal 
a piece of tin 

? 

of wood into the 


What did Miss Contis do? 
Miss Contis put a piece 

box. 


Good afternoon. 



8 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

2. Mr. Vanos took a piece of paper from the 
basket on the chair. 

3. Mr. Sotos took a piece of glass and a piece 
of string from the window-sill. 

4. Mrs. Mito put a piece of cloth into the box 
and a piece of rubber into the basket. 

5. Henry put a piece of paper and a piece of 
string into the big box. 

6. Peter put a piece of coal on the piece of pa¬ 
per and a piece of wire on the piece of cloth. 

7. Rose put a piece of glass on the chair beside 
the table and a piece of tin on the chair be¬ 
side the window. 

8. Mary put a piece of cloth under the book, 
a piece of leather into the book, and a piece 
of string on the book. 

9. John put a piece of rubber and a piece of 
wire on the chair, and a piece of cloth and 
a [)iece of leather on the window-sill. 

10. Jane put a piece of coal and a piece of wire 
into the long box on the table, and a piece 
of paper and a piece of glass into the little 
white box on the chair. 


Good evening. 



THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


9 


LESSON IV 


Personal Pronouns 


I put 
You put 
He put 


We put 
You put 
They put 


She put 

1. I put a little bottle and a green pencil beside 
the little red book. 

2. You put a little white paper under the box. 

3. He put a short pencil, a long box, and a 
little basket under the table. 

4. She put a red pencil and a short pen into 
the green book. 

5. We put books on the table. 

6. They put pans, pens, and pins on the table. 

7. We put pencils and papers on the table, and 
they put pens into the box. 

8. He took a piece of glass, she took a piece of 
tin, and we took pieces of paper. 


Good-by, 



10 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

9. I put pins into the pan, and you put pens 
into the box. 

10. You put a pen on the table, and they put 
books on the table beside the pen. 

11. He put a little red paper under the book, 
and she put a big white paper on the 
book. 

12. They put little white boxes on the table, 
and we put little pencils into the little white 
boxes. 

13. I put a little red book on the table. You 
put a little green book on the little red book, 

' and she put a little box on the little green 
book. 

14. We put pieces of rubber and pieces of tin 
into the box on the chair, and they took 
two pieces of rubber and one piece of tin 
from the box. 

LESSON V 

A Piece of Cotton Cloth 
a piece of cotton cloth 
a piece of woolen cloth 
a piece of silk cloth 
a piece of linen cloth 

a long piece of cotton cloth 
a long piece of blue cotton cloth 


Excuse me; Certainly. 



THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK n 
I. Take a piece of cotton cloth from the basket 


on the table. 

What did you do? (I took.) 

2. Give a piece of silk cloth and a piece of 
woolen cloth to James. 

What did you do? (I gave.) 


3. Take a piece of linen cloth and a piece of 
cotton cloth from the basket on the chair. 

4. Take a short piece of woolen cloth and a 
long piece of silk cloth from the table. 

5. Put a long piece of white cotton cloth and a 
short piece of blue woolen cloth into the 
long white box. 

6. Put a short piece of red silk cloth into the 
box on the chair and a piece of green linen 
cloth into the little basket 

7. Put a piece of blue woolen cloth, a piece of 
red woolen cloth, and a piece of black woolen 
cloth into the big basket. 

8. They took little pieces of blue cotton cloth 
from the box and little pieces of red cotton 
cloth from the basket. 

9. She put long pieces of silk cloth into the box 
beside the basket and short pieces of red 
cotton cloth into the box beside the book. 


Thank you. You are welcome. 





12 


THE BEGl NN.ER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


io. John took long pieces of white cotton cloth 
and short pieces of red cotton cloth from 
the basket on the table. 

LESSON VI 

Tin Box, Wooden Box, Paper Box 

1. Put a long piece of cotton cloth into the tin 
box on the chair. 

What did you do? 

2. Take a short piece of blue woolen cloth 
from the big wooden box on the table. 

3. Put a little piece of green linen cloth into the 
long paper box, and put the paper box on 
the table. 

4. Put a piece of tin into the tin box, a piece 
of wood into the wooden box, and a piece 
of paper into the paper box. 

5. Put a long piece of blue woolen cloth into 
the tin box and a short piece of red paper 
into the wooden box. 

6. Put a tin box, a paper box, and a wooden 
box on the chai r beside the table. 

7. Put a long piece of string into the tin box, 
a short piece of wire into the wooden box, 
and a little piece of glass into the paper box. 


I am glad to see you, John. How are you ? 



THE BEQINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 13 

8. Put the tin box on the table, the wooden 
box on the chair beside the table, and the 
paper box on the floor beside the chair. 

9. Take a short piece of blue string from the 
little tin box, a piece of red cotton cloth 
from the long paper box, and a piece of 
leather from the big wooden box. 

10. Put the tin box on the table, the wooden 
box on the chair, and the paper box on the 
floor; then put a pan into the tin box, a pen 
into the wooden box, and a pin into the 
paper box. 


LESSON VII 
On the: End oe the: Table 
on the end of the table 
on the side of the table 
on the corner of the table 
in the center of the table 

1. Put the tin box 6 n the end of the table. 
What did you do? 

2. Put the basket and the wooden box on the 
side of the table. 

What did you do ? 

3. Put the bottle and the paper box on the cor¬ 
ner of the table. 

4. Put the pan in the center of the table. 


I am well, thank you. How are you? 



i 4 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

5. Put a book on the end of the table and a 
pencil on the end of the book. 

6. Put a little pencil on the side of the table 
beside the green book. 

7. Take the book from the end of the table 
and the pen from the side of the table. 

8. Take the piece of tin from the end of the 
table and the piece of wire from the side 
of the table. 

9. Put a little piece of glass into the tin box on 
the end of the table and a piece of coal into 
the basket in the center of the table. 

10. Put a book under the wooden box on the 
side of the table and a paper box under the 
book in the center of the table. 

t 1. Put a pan into the wooden box on the end 
of the table, a pen into the paper box on the 
side of the table, and a pin into the tin box 
in the center of the table. 

12. Put a box on the end of the table beside the 
little red book and a basket on the side of 
the table beside the big green book. 

13. He took a piece of leather from the basket 
on the side of the table, and she took a 
piece of glass from the tin box on the 
corner of the table. 


What time is it? It is ten o'clock. 



THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 15 

14. Put a long piece of blue cotton string into 
the paper .box on the corner of the table, 
and a piece of glass into the tin box in the 
center of the table. 

LESSON VIII 

Put It Put Them 

1. Take a pen from the end of the table and 
put it into the tin box. 

What did you do ? 

2. Take three pens and two pins from the 
paper box and put them into the tin box. 

3. Take a piece of blue linen cloth from the 
wooden box and put it into the little basket 
on the chair. 

4. Take a piece of coal and a piece of glass 
from the table and put them into the box on 
the window-sill. 

5. Take pieces of paper, pieces of string, and 
pieces of tin from the table and put them 
into the paper box. 

6. Take five buttons and three nails from the 
table and put them into the box on the side 
of the table. 

7. Take a long piece of red cotton string from 
the long box in the window and put it 
around the big green book. 


It is a quarter to four. 



16 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

8. Take three little pieces of green linep cloth 
from the box on the chair and put them 
into the basket on the end of the table. 

9. Take a piece of wire and a piece of tin from 
the little box on the corner of the table, and 
put them into the big box on the end of the 
table. 

10. Take the books from the end of the table, 
the pens from the side of the table, and the 
papers from the center of the table, and 
put them on the chair. 

LESSON IX 

Each Inch Edge All Whole 

1. Put a match on each end of the table. 

What did you do? 

2. Put two matches on each side of the table 

3. Put three matches on each corner of the 
table. 

4. Put a match on each corner of the table and 
four matches on each side of the table. 

5. Put four matches on each side of the table 

and five matches on each end of the table. 


It is half past eleven. 



THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 17 

6. Take six matches from the tin box, and put 
two on each end of the table and one on 
each corner of the table. 

7. Put a match on each side of the table one 
inch from the edge. 

8. Put a whole match in the center of the 
table two inches from the box. 

9. Put two broken matches on each end of the 
table and three whole matches on each side 
of the table. 

10. Take all of the broken matches from the 
tin box on the chair and put them on the 
side of the table. 

1 1. Put a whole match on each side of the table 
two inches from the edge and a broken 
match on the table beside each whole match. 

1 2. Give a broken match and a whole match to 
each pupil at the side of the table, and three 
whole matches to each pupil at the end of 
the table. 

13. Take all of the whole matches from the 
wooden box and put them on the side of the 
table; then take all of the broken matches 
from the tin box and put them on the end 
of the table. 


It is five minutes after six! 



18 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

LESSON X 

This, That These, Those 

1. Take a piece of cotton cloth from this end 
of the table and put it on that end of the 
table. 

What did you do ? 

2. Take these pens and those pencils and put 
them into that box. 

3. Take this book and that book and put them 
on that chair. 

4. Take those matches and these nails and put 
them into the tin box on this corner of the 
table. 

5. Give these books to that man and those 
books to this man. 

6. Take the pen from this end of the table and 
put it on that chair. 

7. Put those pencils into these boxes; then put 
the boxes on those chairs by the door. 

8. Take these boxes and these books from this 
chair and those boxes and those books from 
that chair, and put them on the desk. 

9. He took this little pencil and these black 
pens from this box and put them into that 
box on the corner of the table. 


I have no pencil. 



THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 19 

10. These books on this table are little red 
books, and those books on that table are 
big green books. 

11. He took three nails and five buttons from 
this box, and she took four pens and seven 
pencils from that box. 

12. Mary gave those books to him and these 
books to her ; then she put this book and 
that book into the cupboard. 

LESSON XI 
Possessive Pronouns 

I have my book We have our books 

You have your book You have your books 

He has his book They have their books 

She has her book 

1. Put my book on the table. 

What did you do ? 

2. Put your pen on the book. 

What did you do? 

3. Put her box on my book. 

What did you do ? 

4. Take his pen from the table. 

What did you do? 


May I have a pencil, please? 



20 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

5. Put our pens on our papers. 

What did you do ? 

6. Put their papers on the table. 

What did you do? 


1. I put my long piece of cotton cloth into 
your little white box; then I put your piece 
of woolen cloth into my basket. 

2. We put our books on the chair beside the 
table, and they put their books on the chair 
beside the window. 

3. You took their pens from my box and put 
them into his big wooden box; then you put 
the box on the end of the table. 

4. We took our little brown pencils from the 
pencil-box, and we put them into the chalk- 
box. 

5. Take all of our pens from the box and give 
one to John and one to Mary ; then put two 
pens into each box on the side of the table. 

6. Take our books, our pencils, and our papers 
and put them into the cupboard; then give 
each pupil a piece of chalk and an eraser. 


Lend me your pen, please. 




THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


21 


LESSON XII 

Personal Pronouns Following the 
Preposition To 


to me 
to you 
to her 
to him 


to us 
to you 
to them 


1. Take your pens from the table and give 
them to me. 

What did you do ? 

2. Give these long green pencils to her and 
these little brown pencils to him. 

3. Take those little pieces of leather from the 
wooden box and give them to us. 

4. Take these pens from the table and give 
them to them. 

5. They gave three pieces of black woolen 
cloth to her and two pieces of red cotton 
cloth to me. 

6. Take a little piece of tin from the box on 
this end of the table and give it to him. 

7. She took all of my pens and all of her pens 
from the table; then she gave the red ones 
to you and the black ones to me. 


I do not understand you. 



22 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

8. Take my long piece of green linen cloth 
from him and give it to me; and then give 
my short piece of blue silk cloth to her. 

9. Give the wooden box to me, the tin box to 
him, and those two paper boxes to those 
two men at the end of the table. 

10. Take the matches from the box and give 
the whole matches to him, the broken 
matches to her, and the box to me. 

11. He took the long pencils from the table and 
gave them to us; then she took the pieces 
of chalk from the box and gave them to 
him. 

LESSON XIII 
Not But 

I have I did not 

I have not 

1. Take three books from the table. 

Have you two books? 

No, I have not two books, but I have three 
books. 

2. Put that red book on the chair. 

Did you put a green book on the chair ? 

No, I did not put a green book on the chair, 
but I put a red book on the chair. 


Pronounce this word, please. 



THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


23 


3. Give him those pencils. 

Did you give him those boxes? 

No, I did not give him those boxes, but I 
gave him those pencils. 

4. Take a nail, a screw, and a pen from the 
box. 

Did you take a pan from the box? 

5. Put this chair beside the door. 

Did you put the jchair beside the table ? 


1. I did not take a piece of coal from the 
basket, but I took a piece of wood from the 
basket. 

2. He did not take a pencil from the box, but 
he took a pen from the box. 

3. They did not put their papers on the table, 
but they put their books on the table. 

4. I have not a long piece of cloth. I did not 
take a long piece of cloth from the box, but 
I took a short piece of cloth from the box. 

5. You did not put fifty pens on the table, but 
you put fifteen pens on the table. 

6. I did not take a piece of glass from this end 
of the table, but I took a piece of wire from 
the box on that end of the table. 


What is the meaning of this wofd? 





24 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

LESSON XIV 
There Is 

Is there.? Are there.? 

There is a. There are .. 

There is not a.. There are not any. 

1. Put one match on the table. 

Is there a match on the table? 

There is a match on the table. 

2. Put a book on the table. 

Is there a pen on the table? 

No, there is not a pen on the table, but 
there is a book on the table. 

3. Put three matches on the table. 

Are there three matches on the table? 
There are three matches on the table. 

4. Put four pens on the table. 

Are there four pencils on the table ? 

There are not any pencils on the table, but 
there are four pens on the table. 


1. There is not a pen in that box on the table, 
but there are three pens in this box on this 
chair. 

2. There are not any boxes on those chairs, 
but there are two books on each chair. 


Spell this word for me. 










THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


2 5 


3. There is not one piece of woolen cloth in 
that box, and there are not any in those 
boxes on the window-sill. 

4. There are not any pencils in the box on the 
table, but there is a pencil in each box on 
the bench. 

5. There is a little green book on my table, but 
there are not any books on your table. 

6. There are boxes of chalk and boxes'of pen¬ 
cils on that table, but there are not any 
boxes on this table. 

LESSON XV 
Here There 

1. Come here, John, and put that green book 
here on this table. 

What did you do? (I came.) 

2. Go there to that window and put the pen 
into the box. 

What did you do? (I went.) 

3. Put these tin boxes here and those paper 
boxes there. 

4. My book is here on this table, but my pencil 
is there on that table. 


I do not know this word. 





26 THE BEGINNERS ENGLISH BOOK 

5. Put a little piece of cotton cloth here into 
this box,, and a piece of paper there into 
that box. 

6. There are three pens and a pencil here in 
this box, and there are five pencils and an 
eraser there in that box. 

7. They put their little brown pencils here, 
and their long red pens there. 

8. John put his book here, and Jane put her 
book there; but they put their erasers and 
chalk there on that bench beside the black¬ 
board. 

9. Their little wooden boxes are not here, but 
there are two tin boxes there on that 
window-sill. 

10. There are not any chairs here at this table, 
but there are five chairs there at that table. 

11. John is here, and Mary is here. Henry and 
Paul are not here, but all will be here at 
nine o’clock. 

LESSON XVI 

Interrogates 

Interrogative Adjectives: Who, Which, What. 

Who is.? Which is -? 

Who are .... ? Which are .... ? 

What is.? 


May I read now? 








THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 

1. Who is that man at the window : 

That man is Mr. Smith. 

2. Who are those men at the door? 

Those men are Mr. Jones and his son. 

3. Which is James? 

The man at the end of the table is James. 

4. Which are your books ? 

Those books on the chair are my books. 

5. What is on the table? 

There is a paper on the table. 

Interrogative Adverbs: Where, When, 
Why, How. 


Where is.? Where are 

It is. They are . 


1. Where is my pencil? 

It is on the book. 

2. Where are your papers ? 

They are on the table. 

3. When do you come to school? 

I come to school at nine o’clock. 

4. Why do you come to school ? 

I come to school to learn the English lan 
guage. 


Wait a minute, please. 








28 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


5. How much clid you pay for your book? 
I paid one dollar for it. 

6. How many pupils are in this room? 
There are fifteen pupils in this room. 


Note.— Drill frequently on the use of interrogatives. See 
to it that each pupil asks questions as well as answers them. 


r 

LESSON XVII 

Possessive Pronouns Used 
Without Nouns 

Mine Yours Hers His Ours Theirs 

1. That is my book. 

That book is mine. 

2. That is your book. 

That book is yours. 

3. That is his book. 

That book is his. 

4. That is her book. 

That book is hers. 

5. Those are our books. 

Those books are ours. 

6. Those are your books. 

Those books are yours. 


What is the price of this? 



THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

7. Those are their books. 

Those books are theirs. 


1. \ our pen is on the desk. Where is mine ? 
Yours is in the paper box. 

2. My hat is on the table. Where is hers ? 
Hers is on the chair. 

3. Her chair is at the end of the table. Where 
is his ? 

His is at the side of the table. 

4. His papers are here ; Where are ours? 
Ours are in the basket. 

5. Our papers are here. Where are theirs ? 
Theirs are in the cupboard. 

k nr tofc 


1. There are three pens on the table. Yours 
is here, his is here, and mine is here. 

2. They put ours into the box and theirs into 
the cupboard; but where is his ? 

3. They put all on the chair, yours, his, hers, 
and theirs. 

4. I gave mine to her, and she gave hers to me. 

5. How many of these pins are yours, and how 
many are mine ? Put mine into my box and 
yours into your box. 


How much did it cost? 





30 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


LESSON XVIII 

Interrogative^ 

1. What is your name? 

2. What is the name of this school? 

3. What is the name of this street? 

4. What is the name of this book? 

5. What is the name of this thing? 

1. What shall I put into the box? 

2. What shall I write? 

3. What shall I tell her? 

4. What shall I give him ? 

5. What shall I do? 

1. Where shall I sit? 

2. Where shall I write? 

3. Where shall I put the box? 

4. Where are your papers? 

5. Where is his hat? 


It is a beautiful day. 





PART TWO 


















































































































- 





























J, ' 












. 























































' 




































■ 



THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


33 


LESSON I 

Verbs: Present Tense, Imperative and 
Interrogative Forms 

Note. —In teaching tense forms use the calendar 


to indicate the time. 



write 

study 

walk 

read 

listen 

sit 

speak 

eat 

stand 

come 

go 

look 


Conjugation of the verb write: Present Tense (to-day)* 


Singular Number 

I write 
You write 
He writes 
She writes 
John writes 

i. To-day I sit and write. 


Plural Number 

We write 
You write 
They write 


2. He sits beside the table and writes. 


3. They sit beside the table and write. 

4. I sit and read and write, and she sits and reads 
and writes- 

5. I take a piece of cloth, and she takes a piece of 
paper. 

6. She walks to the blackboard and writes. 

7. John goes to the window and looks at the people. 


34 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


8 . We speak English, and he speaks Italian. 

NEGATIVE FORMS 

I do not write We do not write 
You do not write You do not write 
He does not write They do not write 

1. She writes, but I do not write. 

2. She sits, but he does not sit. 

3. We take pencils, but they do not take pencils. 

IMPERATIVE SENTENCES 

I. Come here, Mary, and read your lesson. 

2 - Go to the blackboard and write. 

3. Take these pens and put them into the box. 

4. Listen to me, please. 

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES 

1. Do you like coffee? 

No. I do not like coffee, but I like tea. 

2. Does she write? 

No. She does not write, but she reads. 

3. Does John go to school every day? 

Yes- He goes every day. 

4. Do John and James work in a store? 

No. They do not work in a store, but John works 
in a restaurant, and James works in a factory. 


THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 


35 


5. Does John speak the Italian language? 

No. He does not speak the Italian language, but 
he speaks the Greek language. 

6. Does Mary sit at the side of the table ? 

No. She does not sit at the side of the table, but 
she sits at the end of the table. 

LESSON II 

Future Tense, Expressions of Futurity, 
Infinitives 


(Reference matter for the learner.) 


Verbs in 

Verbs in 

Present Tense (now) 

Future Tense (to-morrow) 

I come 

I shall come 

I go 

I shall go 

I read 

I shall read 

I write 

I shall write 

I take 

I shall take 

I learn 

I shall learn 

I buy 

I shall buy 

I put 

I shall put 

I sit 

I shall sit 

Conjugation Of The Verb Go, Future Tense 

I shall go 

We shall go 

You will go 

You will go 

He will go 

They will go 


Negative 

I shall not go 

We shall not go 

You will not go You will not go 

He will not go 

They will not go 


36 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


Future Expressions 


to-morrow 
day after to-morrow 
next week 
week after next 


next month 
month after next 
next year 
year after next 


Infinitives 


to write 
to eat 
to read 
to work 


to give 
to speak 
to learn 
to put 


Practice Exercises 

1. To-morrow I shall come here to learn the English 
language. 

2. Day after to-morrow I shall not come to school, 
because it is Saturday. 

3. I shall go to the theater next week. 

4. Week after next my sister will come to school to 
study the language. 

5. About the middle of next week we shall go to the 
country to see our friends. 

6. Month after next John will go to New York to 
buy some cloth for his store. 

7. Next year my brother will come to the United 
States to live with me. 

8. Year after next my brother will have a store on 
Fifth Avenue- 

9. I shall go to a store next month to buy a book to 
read about the American people. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


37 


10 . We shall come to school next week to learn to 
read, to write, and to speak the English language. 

ii- They will come to school because they want to 
learn the English language; and they want to learn 
the English language because they want to earn 
money. 

1. Shall I get my book and read to you now? 

2. Will Mr. Wilson go to work day after to-morrow? 

3. Where will they go when the bell rings? 


LESSON III 

Names of the Days of the Week, . 



and Times of Day 


Sunday 

Tuesday Thursday 

Saturday 

Monday 

Wednesday Friday 


morning 

forenoon evening 

midnight 

noon 

afternoon night 



1. On Sunday I shall take my friends to church. 


2. My brother will come to visit me on Monday, and 
we shall go to the theater on Tuesday night. 

3. Wednesday at nine o’clock I shall go to the rail¬ 
road station to meet my uncle and aunt- 

4. On next Thursday my brother will go to Boston 
to see father, mother, and sister. 


38 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

5. Two weeks from next Friday Mr. Carson will 
speak to the men of this class- 

6. At eight o'clock on next Monday evening we shall 
see that good play at the theater. 

7. On Saturday afternoon I shall not work, but I 
shall go out on the street to take a walk. 

8. Next Wednesday I shall take my sister to a store 
to buy her a new hat and a new coat to wear to 
school. 

9. On next Saturday at midnight my friend will 
start for Chicago. 

10. On next Thursday afternoon I shall not work, 
because I am off work that day. 

11. When I come to school to-morrow morning, I 
shall sit at this table to write my lesson. 

12. When I go to Boston to see my cousin next month, 
I shall take him a new English book. 

13. When I receive my pay next week, I shall buy 
myself a new suit and a new hat. 


LESSON IV 
Past Tense 


Reference matter for the learner. 
Present Tense (now) Past Tense (yesterday) 


come 


came 

went 

read 


go 

read 


THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 


39 


write 

speak 

learn 

put 

buy 

eat 

drink 

sleep 

give 

take 

work 

see 

do 

have 

is 

are 

make 

want 

talk 

get 

send 

sell 

show 

look 

listen 

walk 

wait 

watch 

stop 

receive 

answer 

keep 

say 

order 

return 

think 

carry 

wash 

build 

stay 

like 


wrote 

spoke 

learned 

put 

bought 

ate 

drank 

slept 

gave 

took 

worked 

saw 

did 

had 

was 

were 

made 

wanted 

talked 

got 

sent 

sold 

showed 

looked 

listened 

walked 

waited 

watched 

stopped 

received 

answered 

kept 

said 

ordered 

returned 

thought 

carried 

washed 

built 

stayed 

liked 


40 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


Practice Exercises 


yesterday 

day before yesterday 
three days ago 


last month 
month before last 
three months ago 


last week 
week before last 
three weeks ago 


last year 
year before last 
three years ago 


1. Yesterday I sat at this table and wrote my lesson, 
and to-day I sit here again. 

2. Day before yesterday I learned many new words, 
and I want to learn more to-day. 

3. I met John on the street three days ago, and I 
talked with him for an hour. 

4. Week before last I went to the theater and saw a 
good play, and next week I shall go again. 

5. Jane bought some cloth last week, and next week 
she will make a dress for her little sister. 

6. Three weeks ago I sold my house, and week after 
next I shall buy another one. 

7. Month before last we carried our plants into the 
other room, and next week we shall carry them 
into this room again. 

8- Three months ago I received a letter from a 
friend in Europe, and next week I shall answer it. 

9. Last year I read many books, and next year I shall 
read many more. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


41 


10. Year before last I wrote in my native language, but 
now I write in English. 

11. Last night I went home at six o'clock. I made a 
fire. I sat down to read; and when my brother 
came in, we talked an hour and a half about 
American history. 

12. Three years ago two of my fellow-countrymen 
came to New York, and they stayed there for one 
year; then they went to Chicago. They are there 
now, and each has a comfortable home. 

13. Year before last I thought that I did not want to 
learn the English language; but last year I did 
not work because I could not speak the lan¬ 
guage of my new country. 


LESSON V 
Names of the Months 


January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 


July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 


1. I came to the United States on the first of last 
March. 

2. John was born on April 10, 1910. a nd bis sister 
was born on June 6, 1914. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


3. In July and August the weather will be hot, and 
in October and November the weather will be cool. 

4. In May the farmer will plant his corn, and in 

a 

October he will gather it in. 

5. The Fourth of July is a holiday in this coun¬ 
try. We celebrate the day of our independ¬ 
ence. 

6. My friends will come to visit me in the middle of 
June, and I shall take them to the country for a 
picnic in the woods. 

7. Last July when I had my vacation, I went to the 
country, where I helped my brother work on the 
farm- 

8 On the last Tuesday of June Frank and Harry 
came from Europe, and they both live here now. 

9. Last February, when the weather was very cold, 1 
bought one ton of coal, for which I paid six 
dollars. 

10. The schools in the large cities of the United 
States are open for ten months of the year; so 
the children have only two months of vacation. 

11. Mr. Panos came to the United States on the fifth 
of last January, and he lived here one month; then 
he moved to Boston, where he will live for two or 
three years. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


43 


LESSON VI 

Common Questions about Persons 

1. What is your name? 

My name is Ross Martino. 

2. Where do you live? 

I live at number 1145 Fifth Avenue. 

3- From what country did you come? 

I came from Italy. 

4. When did you come to the United States? 

I came to the United States on June 14, 1921. 

5. Which language do you speak? 

I speak the Italian language. 

6. Is your father in this country? 

Yes. My father is here. 

7. Is your mother in this country? 

No. My mother is in Italy. 

8. How many sisters have you? 

I have no sisters. 

9. How many brothers have you? 

I have two here and one in Italy. 

10. How old are you? 

I am eighteen years old 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


. LESSON VII 

A Friendly Letter 

1463 Penn Avenue, 
Pittsburgh, Pa. 
April 6, 1921. 

My dear Sister, 

I shall write you a short letter in English. I can 
not write much, because I do not know many words. 
I go to school every day, and next month I shall know 
more words, and then I shall write you a long letter. 

We want you to come to Pittsburgh to visit us 
about the first of June. Come and stay two or three 
weeks with us. We can have a good time, because 
now I can go all over the city alone. 

Write to me and tell me when you will 
arrive in Pittsburgh, and I shall meet you at the station. 
It is time for me to go to school, so I must close. 

Your sister, 

Mary Rupert. 


Envelope. 


Mary Rupert, 
1463 Penn Ave., 
Pittsburgh, Pa. 


Miss,Jane Rupert, 

4625 Fifth Avenue, 

New York, 
New York. 







THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


45 


LESSON VIII 
Before After 

1. Before you sit down, open your book. 

2. After you sit down, open your book. 

3. Before I came to the United States, I could not 
read or speak the English language. 

4. I came here before half past nine o'clock, and I 
stayed until after half past three. 

5. After I go home I shall eat my supper, and soon 
after supper I shall read my lesson to my brother. 

6. Soon after I came to this country, I came to 
school; and soon after I came to school, I could 
understand a little English. 

7. I shall read this book; and after I read it, I shall 
give it to you to read. 

8. I worked all day to-day, and I am tired- But 
after I rest a short time, I shall go out for a walk. 

9. I cannot become a citizen of the United States 
until I have been here five years. I have been 
here four years, and next year I can become a 
citizen. 

10. After I have lived in this country several years, I 
shall have a business of my own; then I shall own 
my home. 


46 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

3 1. Before I began to study this language, I did not 
like it; but after I came to school for a month, I 
liked the language very much. 

12. After you finish your work to-morrow, I want 
you to bring your family to our house; then we 
shall sing some of our native songs. 


LESSON IX 

Near Far 

near far 

a short distance a long distance 

1. The book is near to the box; but the pen is far 
from the box. 

2. I walk to school this year because I live near; buv 
last year I rode to school because I lived far away. 

3. John walks a short distance to his work, but Henry 
has a long distance to go. 

4. It is a long distance from here to John’s house. I 
cannot walk there; but I shall ride in a street car. 

A SHORT TIME A LONG TIME 

i- Europe is a long distance from the United States, 
and it took me a long time to come from there 
to this country. 

2. I sat in my room a long time last night and read 
my new book; then I went out for a short time to 
walk. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 47 

3. It takes a long time to walk that long distance; but 
it takes a short time to travel it by automobile. 

4. When I came to this country, I traveled a short 
distance on land by railroad; then I traveled a long 
distance on water by steamship. 

5. A short time ago I read about the first English 
people who crossed the Atlantic Ocean. They came 
in sailboats, and not in steamships as you and I 
came. 

6. Before I came to this country, I thought that 1 
could learn to speak the language in a short time; 
but now I think that it will take me a long time to 
learn to speak it well. 

7. I live a short distance from the school; therefore it 
takes me only a short time to come. But John lives 
a long distance from the school, and it takes him a 
long time to come. 


LESSON X 


Partitive Expressions 


many of them 
part of them 
most of them 
one of them 


all of them 


none of them 
some of them 
both of them 
a few of them 
half of them 


I. There are many butte 
them into the tin box. 


buttons on the table. Put all of 


48 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


2. Put some of them on the side of the table and a 
few of them on each end of the table. 

3. Put half of them into the basket and give one of 
them to me. 

4. There are two pencils on the table. Put both of 
them into your pocket. 

5. There are many little buttons in the box. Most of 
them are white. Part of them are black; but one 
of them is red. 

6. Take all of the little pencils from that box and put 
half of them on the chair and half of them on the 

window-sill. 

7. I do not know all of these words- Many of them 
are new to me; but in a short time I shall know all 
of them. 

8. Some of the pupils of this class can read well, and 
some of them cannot read much; but in a short 
time all of them will read well. 

9. All of the pupils of this class came from foreign 
countries. Some of them came from Italy, a few 
Ox them came from Russia, and one of them came 
from China; but none of them came from Turkey. 


LESSON XI 

Present Participles in Progressive Forms 

Reference matter for the learner. 

Present Tense Past Tense Present Participle 
go went going 

come came coming 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


49 


write 

wrote 

writing 

read 

read 

reading 

speak 

spoke 

speaking 

talk 

talked 

talking 

erase 

erased 

erasing 

sit 

sat 

sitting 

eat 

ate 

eating 

tell 

told 

telling 

see 

saw 

seeing 

bring 

brought 

bringing 

buy 

bought 

buying 

break 

broke 

breaking 

cut 

cut 

cutting 

do 

did 

doing 

drink 

drank 

drinking 

think 

thought 

thinking 

stand 

stood 

standing 

sleep 

slept 

sleeping 


Note to the Teacher.— Point out that present participles 
are formed by adding -ing to the present forms. 

Practice Exercises 

I am going We are going 

You are going You are going 
He is going They are going 

1. I am going to New York to meet my brother next 
week. He will arrive in America on next Thurs¬ 
day. 

2. You are standing talking to us, and we are sitting 
listening to you. 

3. They are sitting at the table eating bread anjd 
butter, and drinking tea. 


50 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


4. They are going to bring their violins; then they 
are going to play and sing for us. 

5. I am buying a new house, and I am paying for it 
by the month. I am paying twenty dollars a month. 

6- I am making a new dress, and I am making it of 
beautiful blue woolen cloth. 

7. They are learning the English language. They are 
reading, writing, and speaking in English. 

Are you using this book? 

Is he coming to-morrow? 

Are they buying a new house? 

Is he talking English? 


LESSON XII 
Interrogatives 

The Interrogatives: Who, Which, What 
who 

1. Who is the woman at the door? 

2. Who took my pencil from the box and put it into 
the cupboard? 

3. Who gave you that beautiful green box? 

4. Who took those three matches from the box and 
put them on the edge of the table? 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


5* 


WHICH 

1. Which papers did he put on the window? 

2. Which of those two books did you give to John? 

3. At which table did you sit ? 

4. Which boy took the tin boxes from the cupboard 
and put them here ? 

WHAT 

(. What is the name of that man at the door? 

2. What is in the big wooden box on the floor? 

3. From what box did he take these pens and pencils? 

4. What did that woman put on the corner of the 
table ? 

Interrogative Adverbs: Where, When, Why, How 

WHERE 

1. Where are those pieces of leather, John? 

2. Where did you put my hat and his book? 

3. Where are Mr. and Mrs. Miller and their children ? 

4. Where are the papers for those men in the corner 
of the room? 


S2 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

WHEN 

1. When do they go to work? 

2. When did he put his knife here? 

3. When did she give those beautiful boxes to you? 

4- When did you pay for your book? 

WHY 

J r . Why do Mary and John come to school? 

2. Why do those men sit at the table? 

3. Why do they put their books into the cupboard? 

4. Why do those girls take those pens from the basket ? 

HOW 

1. How much paper do you want? 

2. How many pencils do you want? 

3. How much did you pay for those pens? 

4. How many pencils did you give them ? 

Note.— Drill frequently on questions and their answers. 


LESSON XIII 
Practice Exercises 

I. Two new pupils came to our school yesterday, a 
boy and a girl. The boy’s name is Joseph, and the 
girl’s name is Sarah. 


THE BEGINNERS ENGLISH BOOK 


53 


2. Joseph and Sarah were both born in France. They 
are coming to school to learn the English language. 

3. Joseph is sixteen years old, and Sarah is thirteen. 
They will come to school every day from nine 
o’clock until half past three. 

4. After they go home, they will tell their mother 
about the school. They like to come, and we like 
to have them here. 

5. On Saturday they will not come here; but they will 
go to visit their cousins. 

6. In a few years they will be ready to go to high 
school, and in a few years after that they will go 
to college. 


i- There are many pupils in this school; but there are 
many people on the street who are not pupils in 
any school. 

2. Two months ago I came to this country, and two 
weeks ago I came to this school. Now I am learn¬ 
ing to speak the English language. 

3. Three years ago my brother came to this school, 
and now at the age of fifteen he is in high school. 
He wants to go to college in order to become a 
lawyer. 

4. My friends, John and James, were born in a foreign 
country, and they are both non-English speaking 
people. After they learn to speak English well, 
they will go to work in a factory. 



54 


THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 


5. My father came to this country five years ago, and 
my mother and I came two years ago. I come to 
school every day; but my mother does not go to 
school. I speak well, and she does not- 


LESSON XIV 

The Different-Difference Perplexity 
Same, Differ, Different, Difference 

1. The books that are on the table are the same as 
those on the chair. 

2. She has two books that are the same in length, 
the same in width, and the same in color. 

3. He has two books that are different. They differ 
in length, they differ in width, they differ in thick¬ 
ness, and they differ in color. 

4. There is no difference in the pronunciation of those 
two words; but there is a great difference in the 
spelling of them. 

5. Those two men came from the same country; they 
came at different times- One of them can speak 
four different languages. 

6. I did not arrive in New York on the same day as 
my father arrived, because we set sail on different 
days; he sailed in March, and I sailed in April. 

Are those books the same? 

Is there any difference between those two books? 
Are those papers alike? ^ 

Do those bottles differ in size? 


THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 


55 


LESSON XV 
Common Measures 

Foot Rule, Yardstick, Pint, Quart, Gallon 

1. Take the foot rule and measure the table and tell 
me its length 

2. Take the foot rule and measure Mr. Panos and 
tell me his height. 

3. Measure the thickness of the table and tell me its 
thickness in inches. 

4. With the yardstick measure this piece of string 
and give me its length in yards. 

5. With the pint measure, measure this bottle and tell 
me how many pints it holds. 

6. Yesterday I bought a gallon of milk, and my bill 
was forty-eight cents; therefore I paid twelve 
cents for one quart. 

7. I shall buy a new rug for my room- Measure the 
length and the width of the room, and tell me how 
large a rug to buy. 

8. I want a vessel having the capacity of six quarts. 

I have a two-quart pan, and I need a larger one. 

9. James is going to the tailor to be measured for a 
suit. It takes three or four yards of material to 
make a man's suit. 


56 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

io. Mary will buy a piece of linen cloth to make a 
cover for her table. Measure her table and tell 
me how many yards to buy. 

What are the dimensions of this room ? 

What is the capacity of that box? 

What quantity of milk do you want? 

What are the measurements of this table? 

LESSON XVI 

Past Participles 
Reference matter for the learner. 




Past 

Present 

Present 

Past 

Participle 

Particip 

go 

went 

gone 

going 

come 

came 

come 

coming 

write 

wrote 

written 

writing 

speak 

spoke 

spoken 

speaking 

talk 

talked 

talked 

talking 

erase 

erased 

erased 

erasing 

sit 

sat 

sat 

sitting 

eat 

ate 

eaten 

eating 

tell 

told 

told 

telling 

see 

saw 

seen 

seeing 

bring 

brought 

brought 

bringing 

buy 

bought 

bought 

buying 

break 

broke 

broken 

breaking 

cut 

cut 

cut 

cutting 

do 

did 

done 

doing 

drink 

drank 

drunk 

drinking 

sleep 

slept 

slept 

sleeping 

am 

was 

been 

being 

send 

sent 

sent 

sending 

sell 

sold 

sold 

selling 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


Practice Exercises 

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE 

I have written We have written 

You have written You have written 
He has written They have written 

1. The teacher has written the lesson on the black¬ 
board, and the pupils have written it on their papers. 

2. The teacher has come to teach you, and you have 
come to learn- 

3- We have read our lessons, we have written our 
lessons, and we have talked about our lessons. 

4. She has written to her mother, and she has told her 
that John has just arrived from Europe. 

5- I have been at the store, and I have bought a few 
apples for dinner. 

6. I have eaten my breakfast, and I have walked for 
an hour, and now I shall read for a while. 

7. I have written my lesson on the blackboard. I 
have erased it, and I have spoken what I wrote. 

8. They have lived on this street for a long time, and 
now they have bought a new house on another 
street. 

9. I have not been in Chicago, but my father and 
mother have both been there. 


58 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


PAST PERFECT TENSE 

I had written We had written 

You had written You had written 

He had written They had written 

1. I had read my lesson, and I had written it before 
you came. 

2. I had gone before she told the story. 

3. I had never seen John’s cousin until I went to 
John’s house last night. 

4. I had never read this story before; but I had read 
another story about George Washington. 


LESSON XVII 

Distinction between Sit and Set 

1. Set the box on the table and sit down. 

2. Sit down and set the box on the table. 

3. Set all of those bottles on that bench and sit there 
beside them. 

4. Set Mary on that little chair and let her sit there 
to study her lesson. 

5. Sit down, please, and set your box on the floor. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


59 


6. Set that boy down, and tell him to sit there for a 
half hour. 

7. Tell Mary to set a chair at the table; and then tell 
Mr. Green to sit on it and eat dinner with us. 

8. Harry set that box there an hour ago, and it has 
sat there ever since. Please set it in the cup¬ 
board before you sit down. 

9. Both John and Mary have been sitting on that 
bench a long time. I want them to sit there every 
day to study their lessons. 

10. On last Saturday I went to the railroad station to 
meet my uncle and aunt. They were both there, 
sitting on the bench waiting for me. 

11. I like to sit on the seashore at sunset and watch 
the boats go out to sea. 

12. I sat here yesterday, and I have been sitting here 
again to-day watching the children play in the 
water. 


13. Where are those children? A few minutes ago 
they were here, sitting on the floor setting blocks 
in a row on the edge of the rug. 

14. Set that bottle of ink here on the table; and I shall 
sit and write some of the new words in my book. 

Did you sit on that chair yesterday? 

Did you set this chair beside the table? 


60 THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 
LESSON XVIII 
The use of If 

1. If I had a paper and a pencil, I should write my 
lesson. 

2. If you want to speak well, you must study hard. 

3* If you can spare the time, come to my house to¬ 
morrow and spend the day with us. We have 
much to talk about. 

4. If I had a pen and some ink, I should spend some 
time writing a story about George Washington, 
the first president of the United States. 

5. He said that if he could get off from his work, he 
should go to Cleveland to visit his oldest brother. 

6. If I were your brother, I should not go to work 
yet, but I should go to school awhile first. 

7. If you want a hat of the same style and of 
either the same or a different color, I can get it 
for you. 

8. If they are going the same day as we are, we may 
travel together. I should enjoy talking with them 
as we travel along. 

9. If I were he, I should go to them and ask them 
for more money; and if they would not give more 
money, then I should look for work in another 
place- 

10. If I had been in this oountry five years ago, I 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 61 

should now have a business of my own. If I make 
as much money next year as I made last year, I 
shall soon have my own restaurant. 


LESSON XIX 
The Use of Whether 

1. He feels the table to learn whether it is rough or 
smooth. 

2. She feels the cloth to learn whether it is hard or 
soft. 

3. She feels the water to find out whether it is oold 
or warm. 

4. I do not know whether or not that man can speak 
the Greek language. 

5. We cannot tell whether the weather will be warm . 
or cold to-morrow. 

6. He has lost his money. I do not know whether it 
is because he is a bad manager, or whether it is the 
fault of his partner. 

7. When he comes in, he will tell us whether or not 
he is going to accept the new position that was 
offered him last week. 

8: Let me know by the first of the month whether or 
not you will accept my offer for that house. This 
is all that I am able to-pay. 


62 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


g. I did not know whether you were going this week, 
or whether you were not going until sometime next 
week. 

io. I am not sure whether or not I shall be able to 
hold my present job. It is very hard for me be¬ 
cause I do not understand the orders that are 
given to me. 


LESSON XX 

The Verb Use The Noun Use 

?. We use pens and pencils to write our lessons. 

2:. We use pencil-paper and pencils when we write 
our lessons; but when we write letters, we use 
letter-paper, pens, and ink. 

3. John and Mary use both gas and electricity in their 
house; gas for heating and electricity for lighting. 

4. The tailor uses the heavy woolen cloth to make the 
winter overcoat, and he uses the light woolen cloth 
to make the light spring overcoat. 

5. Our grandfathers did not use automobiles to travel 
long distances as we do; but they used horses. 

6. Steamships were not used in the time of Columbus ; 
but sailboats were used, and it took a long time to 
travel by water in those days. 

7. On the first of the week I bought myself a new pen¬ 
cil. I have used it for almost a week, and I can use 
it for another week. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


*$3 


8. When I first came to this country, I used the dic¬ 
tionary every day- But now I do not need to use 
it so much, because I am more familiar with the 
words. 


1. I do not know the use of this word. I find it 
difficult to use all of these words correctly. 

2. What use can be made of this room? It has not 
been in use for a long time. 

3. If they want to finish their work in an hour, they 
must make good use of their time. 

Did you use my pen ? 

How do you use this word? 

What is the use of this thing? 

Of what use is this to you? 


LESSON XXI 

Leaf, Leaves, Live, Lived, Die, Died, Dead, Deaih 

1. Here are two dead leaves and two living leaves. 

2. Lack of water will cause the death of leaves. 

3. In the fall the leaves of most of our trees die, and 
the dead leaves fall to the ground. 

4. In the spring time the living leaves come, and the 
trees are made beautiful again. 

5. Tea is the dried leaves of the tea plant. Millions 



64 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


of people all over the world drink tea. This tea is 
made by pouring boiling water over the dried tea 
leaves. 

Leave, Left Live, Lived 

1. He lived here one year; but he will leave for Europe 
next month. 

2. He left this room an hour ago, and I see that he 
has left a package here. Before he leaves to¬ 
morrow, we shall give it to him. 

3. Mr. Mitchell has lived here for a long time; but he 
will leave to-morrow for another city. 

4- After I have lived here for a month or two, I shall 
leave and go to another part of the state. 

5. I had lived there ten years, when a man came along 
one day and bought my house. We left the place 
the next week. 

6. If I put fifty dollars into the bank this month, it 
leaves me sixty dollars to use for expenses. I 
think that I can live on that amount for a short 
time. 

7. Some one told me that when Abraham Lincoln was 
a boy, he slept on a bag of leaves for a bed. And 
this boy lived to become president of the United 
States. 


LESSON XXII 
As 

1. As I came to school to-day, I saw Charles standing 
on the street corner talking with David. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 65 

2. As I was riding along in the street car, I read an 
interesting article in the newspaper. 

3. As I sat in the railroad station waiting for my train, 
I saw Mr. and Mrs. Long go to their train for New 
York. 

4- As I was crossing the Atlantic Ocean to come to 
America, I heard a few people talking in the Eng¬ 
lish language. 

5. As my sister and I passed through the store, we 
saw many people buying summer clothing. 

6 . As I entered the car, I saw Carrie. She said that 
her sister was coming from Europe, and that she 
would arrive the first of next week. 

7. They were coming up the street as I went down. 
I turned around and went with them to their home. 

8. She gave me this book as I came in. It is a good 
book, and when I have finished it, I shall let you 
read it. 

9. As I stood at the window and watched the people 
pass by, I thought of another city that I have 
visited. 


LESSON XXIII 

As.As So.As 

1. My book is as large as yours, and it is just as in¬ 
teresting as yours. 

2. His pen is the same as mine; they are both foun¬ 
tain pens. One writes as well as the other. 




66 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


3. I like this work just as well as I liked the work that 
I did last year. 

4. John does his work as well as Jane, and better than 
Henry. 

5. This coat fits as well as, if not better than the one 
I had last year. 

6. This table is just as long and just as wide as the 
other table. 

7. The boy is just as tall and just as heavy as the girl; 
but neither of them is very tall or very heavy. 


1. This ooffee is not so good as the coffee that we had 
last week, and this cost three or four cents a 
pound more. 

2. The quality of this leather is not so good as the 
quality of the leather that I bought last week; but 
the price is more reasonable. 

3. To-morrow I shall not come so early as I came to¬ 
day, because there is not so much work to do. 

4- I do not live so far away as you do, and it does not 
take me so long to come. 

5. Now she talks as well as he; but she does not write 
so well. However, after she has been here in school 
a little longer, she will write well, as well as any 
one in the class. 



THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


67 


LESSON XXIV 
Correlatives 


both . 


though .... 

....yet 

not only . . 

... but also 

although . .. 


either .... 


since. 


neither . .. 


if . 



1. I told both Mary and John to go to the table. 

2. I want not only Mary and John but also James 
and Paul to go to the door- 

3. I want either Mary or John to go to the black¬ 
board. 

4. I want neither James nor Paul to go. 

5. Though there was much trouble in Europe, yet I 
managed to get away and come to America. 

6. Since I paid twenty cents for two pens, therefore 
the cost of one pen is ten cents. 

7. If I go to see him to-day, then I shall not go to¬ 
morrow. 

8. Both James and Paul have had not only four years 
in high school but also two years at the Musical 
Institute. 

9. They offered me this position; and they will give 
me not only a good salary but also a fine office. I 
must either accept or decline the offer within two 
weeks. 










68 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

10. If all the members could be persuaded to come 
to the meeting, they might not only pay their dues 
but also pay some money into the treasury. 

11. Although I have been studying this subject for a 
long time, still I do not have a clear understand¬ 
ing of it yet. I must either find some books to 
read or find some one who will explain it to me- 


LESSON XXV 
Fill, Full, Feel 

1. Fill the little bottle full of water and the big bottle 
half full. 

2. Feel the bottle to learn whether the water is cold 
or warm. 

3. I need a full box of chalk, and that box is only 
half full. 

4. He took seven matches from that full box on the 
end of the table. 

5. This book is full of beautiful pictures; that other 
book is full of interesting reading. 

6. To know English well fills us with confidence to 
do our work. It will not only make us happy, but 
it will also make us able to earn more money. 

7. There is no one here to fill his position, and I do 
not feel that I have time to do his work and mine 
too. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK Gg 

8 . Columbus filled his ships with enough food to 
last for many days; then he set out on his journey. 
He did not feel afraid, because he was full of 
hope. 

9. Day by day they sat on the decks of the vessels and 
watched the sun rise and set. By and by some one 
saw land a long distance off, then all were full of 
joy. 

10. At last they reached land, and filled with delight, 
they landed and set up a flag in honor of Spain. 
In a short time they started for home, feeling 
that they had made a great discovery. 


LESSON XXVI 
Let 

1. Let me have your pencil, please; mine is broken. 

2. Let me see that book; it looks like mine. 

3. Let him have your knife to sharpen his pencil; he 
lost his on the way to school to-day. 

4. After we have eaten our supper let us go to the 
theater; Henry says that there is a good play this 
week. 

5. Let us tell the children a story about the Indians, 
the red people who lived in America before the 
Europeans came. 

6. Please let me help you with that work; you have 
too much to do to-day, and I have time to help you. 
Let us work together. 


70 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOR 


7. Let us get up early to-morrow and go to a store 
and buy our heavy winter clothing. The weather 
is getting cold, and we need warm clothes. 

8. We must have some fresh air in this room. Let us 
open the windows and let the air come in. 

9. Let all those who sit at the tables have spelling 
books, and let all of the others have readers. 


LESSON XXVII 
Know Knowledge 

1. I do not know what you have in your hand. 

2. I have no knowledge of what you have in your 
hand. 

3. He has no knowledge of what you put into the box. 

4. James does not know the names of those people. 
He says that he never saw them, and that he does 
not know what they want here. 

5. When I have a good knowledge of the English 
language, then I want to get some knowledge of 
a useful trade. 

6. It is difficult to make a machine like that one in 
the mill. It requires a knowledge of machinery 
that only few people have. 

7. Mr. Williams wanted me to come over and make a 
fence around his lot; but I have no knowledge of 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


7i 


fence making, and I told him to get Mr. Doyle to 
do it. 

8- I do not know the exact meaning of this word. I 
shall spend a short time studying it; then if I 
have no more knowledge than I now have, I shall 
ask some one to help me. 

9. When I first came to this country, I did not know 
many people with whom I could talk; but now I 
have a better knowledge of the language, and I 
have many friends. 

10 . That strange man did not know the way to the 
railroad station. He asked me to direct him; 
but he did not have enough knowledge of English 
to understand me. 


LESSON XXVIII 

Lie Lay 

fie, lay, lain, lying 

1. Tell him to lie down and take a sleep to-day. 

2. We lay down yesterday and slept two hours. 

3. That book has lain there for three or four days. 

4. It was lying there when I went out day before 
yesterday. 

5. A little child is lying on the couch sleeping. She 
lay there yesterday also. 


72 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 
lay, laid, laid, laying 

1. Now you see me lay the book on the table. 

2. I laid the book there last week. 

3* He has laid all of the books on the table. 

4. Look at the little girl laying stones on the walk. 


1. I laid that paper there. Let it lie there until I 
come home. 

2. I have laid five letters on the table, and now I lay 
another there. 

3. When I lay down last night, 1 laid my watch on the 
dresser. 

4. At ten o’clock I laid the paper down, and then I 
lay down to sleep. 

5. 1 laid that book there a long time ago, and it has 
lain there ever since. 

6. Lay the child down, and let him lie there to sleep- 

7. He lay there all day yesterday; but now he is up, 
and he is laying those cards on the window-sill. 


LESSON XXIX 

Positive and Comparative Forms of Adjectives 

tall short good heavy long 

taller shorter better heavier longer 

1. There are two men at the end of the table. John 
is the taller of the two. 



THE BEGINNER’S ENGL T SH BOOK 


73 


2 . Let the taller one sit at the end of the table, and 
the shorter one sit at the side of the table. 

3. Those two books are both good, but the little one 
is the better of the two. 

4. They put two stones on the table. 

The one on this corner is the heavier. 

5. Give him the longer of those two pencils, and put 
the shorter one on the window-sill. 

6. Let her have the better piece of cloth because she 
wants to make a good dress. 

7. Those two coats are both good, but I like the 
shorter one better than the longer one. 

8. James is the taller of those two men, but Henry 
is the heavier. 

9. The older of those two men is the better prepared 
to do his work. If you can, take the older one 
to do your work. 

10. The softer piece of cloth is the better, and it will 
make a better coat. 

11. There are two pencils on the table. Give me 
the longer one and put the shorter one into the 
shorter box. 

12. Yesterday I had two pencils. I lost the longer 
one, and now I write with the shorter one. 


74 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


13. I have written two papers. The one that I 
wrote last is the better. 

14. He wants a longer and heavier piece of string 
to tie the larger package and a shorter and 
lighter piece to tie the smaller package. 


LESSON XXX 

The use of Superlatives 

tall short good heavy long 

taller shorter better heavier longer 

tallest shortest best heaviest longest 

1. Of all the men in this room, Harry is the tallest, and 
William is the shortest. 

2. There are three books on the table, but this one is 
the best. 

3. This box is the heaviest and longest that I have. 

4. Here is a full box of pens. The longest pen is the 
best. You may take it, and I shall take the shortest. 

5 You may have the longest and heaviest piece of 
wire, and I shall take the shortest and lightest piece. 

6. Guy has grown much taller and heavier than he 
was. Now he is the tallest and heaviest one of the 
family. 

7. I knew him best of all the family, and I like him 
better than I like his brother. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


75 


8 . We want to know the shortest and best way to go, 
because we want to go in a shorter time than we 
went before. 

9. He is known as the best workman in the shop. He 
is even more skillful than some of those who have 
been there longer than he has. He is also the quick¬ 
est workman there, and he can do his work in the 
shortest time- 


LESSON XXXI 
More Most 

1. These flowers are more beautiful than those that 
I had last week. 

2. Those are the most beautiful flowers that I have 
seen in this part of the country. 

3. John told the most interesting story that I have 
heard for a long time. Let him tell it to you some 
day. 

4. In her work Mary is more thorough than Jane, but 
Jane is quicker than Mary. 

5. She did her work more carefully to-day than she 
did it last week. She will soon learn to be a most 
careful worker. 

6. Harry is more economical than Thomas, but Will¬ 
iam is the most economical of the family. 


76 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


7. John Smith thought that if he should take a more 
northern route than Columbus took, he could find 
a passage to the Indies. 

8. That is the most horrible accident that has happen¬ 
ed on the railroad for a long time. It is even more 
horrible than the one that occurred at the crossing 
last year. 

9. At the dinner the other night they spoke about that 
man who came in just now. He has been most 
successful in his business, and he is one of the most 
able men in the organization. 


LESSON XXXII 
Whom 

to whom for whom with whom 

from whom about whom by whom 

1. To whom shall I go for work? 

I do not know to whom to go for work. 

2. For whom do you work? 

That is the man for whom I work. 

3- With whom did you come to school ? 

There is the man with whom I came. 

4. From whom did he buy his house? 

He did not tell me from whom he bought his house. 

5. About whom were they talking? 

I do not know about whom they were talking. 



THE BEGINNERS ENGLISH BOOK 


77 


6. By whom was that book written? 

I shall see by whom it was written. 

7. I do not know for whom he works, but I do know 
with whom he lives. 

8. He does not know to whom to apply for work, and 
he does not know from whom to get advice about 
it. 

9. They asked by whom that fine house was built, and 
to whom it now belongs; and if it is for rent, 
from whom it can be rented . 


LESSON XXXIII 


Contractions and Negative Sentences 


haven't: have not 
isn’t: is not 
don’t: do not 
didn’t: did not 


aren’t: are not 
weren’t: were not 
hadn’t: had not 


NO 


none 


any 


There is no book there. 
There is not any book there. 
There isn’t any book there. 
There is none there. 


NOTHING 


ANYTHING 


There is nothing in the box. 
There is not anything in the box. 
There isn’t anything in the box. 


78 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


NOBODY ANYBODY 

There, is nobody in that rodm. 

There is not anybody in that room. 
There isn’t anybody in that room. 


1. I have no pens. 

I have not any pens. 

I haven’t any pens. 

2. I have nothing in my hand. 

I have not anything in my hand- 
I haven’t anything in my hand. 

3. They said nothing about it. 

They did not say anything about it 
They didn’t say anything about it. 

4. I cati do nothing for you. 

I cannot do anything for you. 

I can’t do anything for you- 

5. I told him nothing. 

I did not tell him anything. 

I didn't tell him anything. 

Note. —Teach contractions, but discourage their use for 
a time. Especially, discourage the use of “can’t.” Observa¬ 
tion shows that until beginners have learned to stress the 
final consonant, their utterances of can’t (with a weakened t ) 
are apt to be mistaken for can. Urge them to use cannot 
in business. 

LESSON XXXIV 

When, Where, While, During 

1. When I came in, you were sitting at the table 
writing a letter. 



THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


79 


2. Where you are going, the garden is full of the 
most beautiful flowers. 

3. While you were writing, I was reading an 
interesting story about the early settlers of 
America. 

4. During the night he does the most important work 
that is to be done in the factory. 

5- When I heard that Mr. Panos was coming to this 
country, I wrote him a letter asking him to come 
here. 

6. While I was standing on the corner talking to one 
of my friends, James came along and asked us 
to go to the theater with him. 

7. During Columbus’s voyage the sailors became dis¬ 
couraged and wanted to go back to Europe. 

8. I have read that when Captain Smith and his band 
of men were in Virginia, they almost starved to 
death. 

9. The French people once occupied the place where 
Pittsburgh now stands, and the Dutch people once 
occupied the place where New York now stands. 

10. Sometimes the Indians made their most brutal 
attacks upon the colonists while they were wor¬ 
shipping in church. 

11. When they come we shall go into the meeting and 
stay while they sing the beautiful songs. 


8 o 


THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 


12- During the week that my cousin visits me, some¬ 
time when we are all at home, come and spend the 
day with us. 


LESSON XXXV 

Adjectives and Adverbs 


adjectives 

extravagant 

careful 

successful 

abundant 

kind 

thoughtful 

thankful 

grateful 

economical 

quick 

slow 

prompt 

immediate 

cheerful 

hasty 


adverbs 

extravagantly 

carefully 

successfully 

abundantly 

kindly 

thoughtfully 

thankfully 

gratefully 

economically 

quickly 

slowly 

promptly 

immediately 

cheerfully 

hastily 


1. He is a slow and careful worker. 
He works slowly and carefully. 

2. Tim is a successful writer. 

Jim writes successfully. 

3. They have an abundant supply. 
They are abundantly supplied. 


THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 


4- Is this spelling correct? 

Do I spell correctly? 

5. Did you make an exact copy? 
Did you copy this exactly ? 

6. The growth of the corn was rapid 
The corn grew rapidly. 

7. They were earnest students. 

They study earnestly. 

8. John laughed a merry laugh 
John laughed merrily. 


LESSON XXXVI 
What That 

1. This is what you want. 

This is the box that you want. 

2. I gave him what he wanted. 

I gave him the paper that he wanted- 

3. We shall see what they are doing. 

We shall see the work that they do. 

4. I have told them what John said. 

I have told them everything that John said. 

5. They know what you want. 

They know the box that you want. 


82 


THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 


6. They make what you see on the table. 

They made the dresses that you saw on the table. 

7- I do not understand what you say. The words 
that you use are too difficult for me. 

8. We knew all the people that were there, but we 
did not know what they were talking about. 

9. This is the best pencil in the box. It is the one 
that I want to use to-day. 

10. He has told me everything that I needed to know, 
and he seemed to know just what was necessary 
to finish the work. 

11. We want you to learn all that you can here, and 
we want you to learn what you learn well. 


LESSON XXXVII 

Impersonal Use of It, It as an Expletive 

IMPERSONAL 

i- It is blowing and raining very hard. 

2. It is half past five o'clock, and it is time to go home. 

3. It was thawing when I came in. 

4. It behooves me to go to work, if I finish before 
six o’clock. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 83 

5. It is very dark these nights. 

6. It is moderating a little now. 

7. It has been freezing all day 

8. It is too soon to go to the train. 

EXPLETIVE 

1. It is an easy word to understand. 

2. It was a pleasure to see those pictures. 

3. It will be impossible to forget that lesson. 

4. It is a good thing to have that knowledge. 

5. It proved very difficult to find out the truth. 

6. It was a disappointment to me not to see you there* 

7. It is easier to see the faults of others than to recog¬ 
nize our own faults. 


LESSON XXXVIII 

Active and Passive Voice 

1. Active voice: I give this book to you. 

Passive voice: This book is given to you by me* 
Active voice: I gave this book to you. 

Passive voice: This book was given to you bv me 


84 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


2. Active voice: He tells a story to me. 

Passive voice: A story is told to me by him. 
Active voice: He told a story to me. 

Passive voice: A story was told to me by him. 

3. Active voice: She puts the box on the table. 
Passive voice: The box is put on the table by her. 
Active voice: She put the box on the table. 
Passive voice: The box was put on the table by 

her. 

4. Active voice: They lay their books on the table. 
Passive voice: Their books are laid on the table 

by them. 

Active voice: They laid their books on the table- 
Passive voice: Their books were laid on the table 
by them. 

Note that the passive voice is formed by using the 
verb be as an auxiliary and the past participle of the 
verb as the principal verb. 


LESSON XXXIX 
Idiomatic Use and Omission of To 

1. Give the book to me. 

Give me the book. 

2. Give those nails to them. 

Give them those nails. 

3. Tell the story to them. 

Tell them the story. 

4. Bring the pens to us. 

Bring us the pens. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 85 

5. Gather some flowers for me. 

Gather me some flowers. 

After may, can, must, might, could, would, and 
should, to is not used. 

1. I may come to-morrow. 

I can write my name. 

He must learn his lesson. 

He might tell you. 

I could do it for you. 

She would not go. 

I should give her one. 

2. I may go to-day, but I shall not go to-morrow. 

He can get it to-day, but he cannot get it to-morrow. 
I must do my work now because I cannot do it 
next week. 

He might come this afternoon, but he will not come 
this forenoon. 

I could show you my house, but I cannot show 
you her house. 

I should enjoy reading a good book if I could get 
one. 

If you would permit me, I should give you one. 


LESSON XL 


Relative Pronouns 


Who, Which, That, As, What 


Nominative 

Possessive 

Objective 


who 

whose 

whom 


which 

whose 

which 


86 THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 

WHO 

j 1 do not know the man who came in jtist now. 

2. It was I who told you to go. 

3. It is I who am using your pencil. 

4. Give paper to those who need it. 

5. That is the tree whose branches were broken. 

6. The men whom you paid will come to-morrow. 

7. I live with the friend whom you met yesterday. 

8. John Smith, who is my friend, lives here. 

WHICH 

1. Get the same book which you read yesterday. 

2. This hat, which I bought at Kaufmann’s, is a good 
hat. 

3. The horse which stands at the corner belongs to a 
policeman. 

4. That is the box which contains the chalk. 

THAT 

1. The boat that Columbus sailed in was small 

2. All that you tell me is true. 

3. There was no one there that I knew. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 87 

4. Let me use the same book that I used yesterday. 

AS 

1. Did you ever hear such fine music as that? 

2. Your book is the same as mine. 

WHAT 

1. What I tell you is true. 

2. He always does what he is told to do- 

3. I have studied what was assigned to me. 

4. I have learned much from what you have given us. 

LESSON XLI 
Verbal Nouns in -ing 

1. Walking is good exercise. 

2. We enjoyed her singing. 

3. Talking to him is useless. 

4. Speaking about it is unnecessary. 

5. This is a pleasant evening for rowing on the lake 

6. Seeing is believing. 

7. She understands cooking. 


88 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


8. He is afraid of falling. 

VERBAL NOUNS IN -itig USED AS ADJECTIVES. 

1. This sleeping car is new. 

2. The folding chair is useful. 

3. A lying man is not to be trusted. 

4- Spending-money is scarce. 

5. Grumbling people are not pleasant. 

6. Washing machines save labor. 

7. A crying child ran down the street. 

8. A smiling child looked at me. 


LESSON XLII 

Past Participles Used as Adjectives 
Infinitives LUed as Nouns 

PAST PARTICIPLES USED AS ADJECTI’/ES 

1. There is a broken pen on the table. 

2. There is a written record of that event 

3. You have his spoken word for it. 

4. A closed box is on the table. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


89 


5. A burnt match was on the floor. 

6. The encouraged sailors went on. 

7. Those frightened children went home. 

8. An educated person likes to read. 

9* That knitted jacket is warm. 

INFINITIVES USED AS NOUNS 

1. To secure a seat was impossible. 

2. To sing well requires practice. 

3. His delight is to travel. 

4. My wish is to see you immediately. 

5. To decide was to act. 

6. He has but one aim in life, to succeed. 

7. I give you this choice,—to buy, to rent, or to build 

8. It is easy to understand you. 

9. It will be impossible to forget. 

LESSON XLIII 

Words, Phrases, and Clauses Used as Modifiers 

wise (word modifier) 
of wisdom (phrase modifier) 
who is wise (clause modifier) 


po THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

i. A wise man 

A man of wisdom was wanted. 

A man who is wise 


A wise man was wanted. 

A man of wisdom was wanted. 
A man who is wise was wanted 


2. An angry person 
A person in anger 
A person who is angry 


speaks hastily. 


An angry person speaks hastily. 

A person in anger speaks hastily. 

A person who is angry speaks hastily. 


3. I received 


an interesting letter, 
a letter of interest 
a letter that is interesting. 


I received an interesting letter. 

I received a letter of interest. 

I rceived a letter that was interestng. 


LESSON XLIV 
Cognate Objects 

A cognate object repeats the verb idea in noun form. 
I. I shall drink a cool drink of water. 


2. He sang a song. 

3. She lived a life of usefulness. 





THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


4. The child dreamed a frightful dream. 

5. He promised a solemn promise. 

6. James laughed a merry laugh. 

7. She sleeps a sound sleep. 

8. I shall light the light at seven. 

9. I breathed a long breath of fresh air. 

10. He called a loud call. 

11. She gave a beautiful gift. 

12. He shot a straight shot. 

13. They fight a hard fight. 

14. I cut a deep cut in my hand. 

15. He died a noble death. 

16. It rafned a heavy rain. 

17. It snowed a light snow last night. 
t8. He ordered d big order of goods. 

19. I shall drive a long drive into the country 

LESSON XLV 

Phrases Having the Office of Prepositions 
1. according to 

I did this work according to directions. 


92 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOCK 

2- because of 

They did not come because of the rain. 

3. in place of 

Use this paper in place of that. 

4. from under 

Take that book from under the box. 

5. in addition to 

I want a pen in addition to a pencil. 

6. in case of 

In case of fire we can use the fire-escapes. 

7. with regard to 

He is telling me something with regard to :he 
management of the club. 

8. in spite of 

I got it in spite of his objections- 

9. by way of 

I shall go by way of the lake. 

10. in front of 

It stands in front of the house. 

11. for the sake of 

I shall do it for the sake of my father. 

12. round about 

They went in such a round about way. 

13. in opposition to 

He did all that he could in opposition to their idea. 


THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 


9.1 


LESSON XLVI 
Derivatives 

Produce, Producer, Product, Productive 
Unproductive, Production 

1. This land does not produce well. 

2. This man is a producer of cotton. 

3. Cotton is the leading product of this region. 

4. This land is very productive. 

5. This land is unproductive. 

6. There was a large production of cotton last year. 

Fortune, Fortunate, Unfortunate, Fortunately, 
Unfortunately, Misfortune 

1. He received a fortune in money. 

2. He was a fortunate man to receive the money. 

3. He was unfortunate not to receive the money. 

4. Fortunately, he received the money. 

5. Unfortunately, he did not receive the money. 

6- It was a misfortune for him to lose the money. 

Save, Safe, Unsafe, Safety, Safely 
1. The fireman will save the lives of the people. 


94 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


2. The people are all safe now. 

3. That bridge is unsafe. 

4. They are in places of safety. 

5. They were all taken safely across the river. 

Use, Unused, Misused, Useful, Useless. 

Use (noun), Usefulness 

1. I never use this machine. 

2. I put the unused pencils into the box. 

3. He has misused the machine, and it is broken. 

4. This machine is useful. 

5. That machine is useless to us. 

6. Of what use are those machines? 

7. I know of the usefulness of this machine. 

Able, Unable, Disable, Enable, Ability, Disability 

1. I am not able to write well yet- 

2. I am unable to do it. 

3. That accident will disable him for work. 

4. That will enable you to do it. 

5. He has not the ability to do it. 

6 . He was paid money because of disability to do his 
work. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


95 


Change, Changeable, Unchanged 
Exchange, Interchange 

1. I want to change my coat before I go- 

2. This weather is changeable. 

3. The price remains unchanged. 

4. I shall exchange these shoes for larger ones. 

5. They will interchange the pieces of that machine. 


LESSON XLVII 

Some Idiomatic Expressions 

The learner will acquire the precise meanings 
(exact shades of meaning) from use; he will find in 
the parentheses indications of the meanings, more or 
less accurate, that will serve for the time being. 

1. after awhile ( in a short time) 

I shall go after awhile- 

2. all at once (suddenly) 

All at once the rain began to fall. 

3. before long (soon) 

He will come before long. 

4. break up (stop) 

They will break up the meeting 

5 bring about (to cause to be) 

They brought about an agreement. 


96 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


6. blind to (ignorant of) 

I am not blind to their actions. 

7. close at hand (near) 

I keep my dictionary close at hand. 

8. come about (happen) 

How did it come about? 

9. come by (obtain or get) 

How did he come by all that money ? 

10. come on (advance) 

The work is coming on well. 

11. do without (dispense with) 

I shall do without my lunch to-day. 

12. find out (learn) 

I cannot find out who did it. 

13. get away (escape) 

The thief tried to get away. 

14. get up (arise) 

I shall get up at six o'clock. 

15. get through (finish) 

I must get through with my work soon- 

16. get to (arrive) 

They will get to the city to-morrow. 

17. get behind (become tardy) 

He is getting behind with his lessons. 

18. go against (oppose) 

I shall not go against his wishes. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 07 


19. going on (happening) 

What is going on in the street? 

20. good deal (much) 

He has a good deal of money. 

21. hardly enough (insufficient) 

He has hardly enough money to pay for it. 

22. hold back (delay) 

The rain will hold back the work. 

23. more or less (approximately) 

There are ten, more or less. 

24. out and out (entire) 

It was an out and out failure. 

25. on foot (walking) 

They came on foot. 

26. on foot (in existence) 

There is a movement on foot to stop that nuisance. 

27. once in a while (occasionally) 

I go there once in a while. 

28. put by (save) 

He has put by some money. 

29. put off (postpone) 

The meeting is put off until to-morrow. 

30. put out (expel) 

He was put out of the club. 

31. put out (extinguish) 

The fire was quickly put out. 


98 THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 


32. put through (complete) 

They put through much work to-day. 

33. put up (offer for sale) 

It was put up at a low price. 

34. put up (preserve) 

I put up some fruit to-day. 

35. put up with (endure) 

I cannot put up with that noise. 

36. pour in (come in great numbers) 

The people came pouring in at five o’clock. 

37. run after (pursue) 

The policeman ran after the thief. 

38. run away (flee) 

The child ran away from home. 

39. run across (encounter) 

Where did you run across that book? 

40. run out (come to an end) 

The supplies have run out. 

41. run on (continue) 

Do not let the debt run on. 

42. run up (increase) 

The price has run up. 

43. see about (attend to) 

Let us see about that business. 

44. set forth (start) 

They set forth on their journey in October. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


99 


45. shook his head (a negative answer) 
When I asked her, she shook her head. 

46. used to be (was) 

I used to be a pupil there. 

47. upside down (inverted) 

That picture is upside down. 

48. wait on (serve) 

The salesman will wait on you. 

49. well to do (thrifty) 

They are well to do people- 

50. write out (write in complete form) 
Write out your name in full. 


The 

The 

The 

The 

The 

The 

The 

The 

The 

The 

The 

The 

The 

The 

The 


LESSON XLVII 1 
Characteristic Verbs 


wind blows, 
wind howls, 
wind falls, 
clouds fly. 
clouds scatter, 
rain falls, 
rain pours, 
rain beats down, 
thunder roars, 
sun rises, 
sun shines- 
sun sets, 
moon shines, 
stars twinkle, 
street car runs. 


The birds fly. 

The birds chirp. 
The bird sings. 
The dog barks. 
The dog howls. 
The cat mews. 
The cat purrs. 
The cow lows. 
The horse neighs. 
The clock ticks- 
The clock strikes. 
The clock runs. 
The flag waves. 
The flag flies. 

The hinge creaks. 


IOO 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


The telephone line runs across the lot. 
The railroad runs in front of the house. 
The river runs down the mountain side. 


LESSON XLIX 

A Business Letter 

504 Grant St., 
Pittsburgh, Pa., 
June 20, 1921. 

Messrs. Solomon and Swartz, 

316 Smithfield St., 

Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Dear Sirs:—In the Pittsburgh Sun of June 19 I read 
your advertisement inquiring for a Greek man to act 
as salesman and interpreter at your store. I am 
twenty-four years old, and I can read, write, and 
speak both Greek and English. I should like to talk 
with you about the position. Please let me know when 
I may come to see you. 

Yours very truly, 

Emanuel Demos. 


Envelope 


Emanuel Demos, 
504 Grant St., 
Pittsburgh, Pa. 


Messrs. Solomon & Swartz, 

3 "6 Smithfield St., 

Pittsburgh, Pa. 






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THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


103 


LESSON I 

The Dog and His Shadow. 

A dog had a piece of meat in his mouth, and he 
was carrying it home to eat it in peace- On his way 
he had to cross a plank lying across a brook. As he 
crossed, he looked down and saw his shadow in the 
water beneath. He thought it was another dog with 
another piece of meat, and he made up his mind to 
have that also. So he snapped at the shadow in the 
water; but as he opened his mouth, the piece of meat 
dropped into the water and was never seen again. 

Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping 
at the shadow. 


LESSON II 

The Crow and the Pitcher 

A crow found a pitcher with some water in it, 
but there was so little that she could not reach it 
with her beak. In a short time she found a plan. 
She dropped pebbles into the water one by one, and 
with each pebble the water rose higher and higher 
until at last the water reached the brim, and the crow 
was able to quench her thirst. 

Necessity is the mother of invention. 


LESSON III 

A Father and His Sons 

A man had several sons that were always quarrel¬ 
ing with one another. The father tried, but he could 


104 


THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 


not get them to live together in peace and harmony- 
So he determined to convince them of their folly by 
bidding them to bring a bundle of sticks. He invited 
each in turn to break the bundle of sticks across his 
knee. All tried and failed, and then he untied the 
bundle and handed them the sticks one by one. They 
had no difficulty at all in breaking them. “There, my 
boys,” said he, “united you will be more than a match 
for your enemies; but if you quarrel and separate, 
your weakness will cause you to fail.” 

In union there is strength. 


LESSON IV 

Hercules and the Wagoner 

A wagoner was once driving a heavy load along 
a muddy road. At last he came to a part of the road 
where the wheels sank half way into the mud, and the 
more the horses pulled the deeper the wheels sank. 
The wagoner threw down the whip and knelt down to 
pray to Hercules. “O Hercules, help me in this hour 
of trouble,” said he. But Hercules appeared to him 
and said, “Tut tut, man, do not sprawl there. Get up 
and put your shoulder to the wheel- The Gods will 
help them that help themselves.” 

The Gods help them that help themselves. 

LESSON V 

The Fox and the Crow 

A fox saw a crow fly off with a piece of cheese 
in its beak and settle on the branch of a tree. “That 


THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 


105 

is for me,” said Master Fox, and he walked up to the 
foot of the tree. “Good day, Mistress Crow,” said he, 
“how well you look to-day; how glossy your feathers 
and how bright your eye! I am sure that your voice 
must surpass that of all other birds. Let me hear but 
one song from you that I may greet you as Queen of 
Birds.” The crow lifted up her head and began to 
caw her best; but the moment she opened her mouth, 
the piece of cheese fell to the ground and was snapped 
up by Master Fox. “That will do,” said he, “that is 
all that I wanted.” 

Do not trust flatterers- 

LESSON VI 

The North Wind and the Sun 

A dispute arose between the North Wind and the 
Sun, each claiming that he was stronger than the other. 
At last they agreed to try their powers upon a traveler 
to see which could soonest make him take off his coat. 
The North Wind made the first trial, and gathering 
up all his forces for the attack, he came whirling 
furiously down upon the man. He caught up the 
man’s coat as though he would tear it from him by one 
single effort. The harder the Wind blew the more 
closely the man drew his coat around him. 

Then came the turn of the Sun. At first he 
beamed gently upon the traveler, who soon unbuttoned 
his coat and walked on with it hanging loosely about 
his shoulders. The Sun then shone forth in his full 
strength; and the man, before he had gone many steps, 
was glad to take off his coat and finish his journey 
more lightly dressed. 

Persuasion is better than force. 


106 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 
LESSON VII 

The Man, The Boy, and The Donkey 

A man and his son and their donkey were once 
going to market. As thev passed along the road, they 
met a countryman who said, “You fools, why do you 
not ride? Of what use is the donkev but to ride?” 
The man put the bov on the donkey and they traveled 
on; and in a short time they met a group of men- One 
of them said, “Look at that lazy boy. He rides and 
lets his tired father walk.” Then the father told the 
boy to walk and let him ride, and again they went on 
their way. But next they met a group of women, and 
one of them said, “What a lazy man, to ride and let 
that little boy walk.” The father did not know what 
to do; so he put the boy before him on the donkey and 
they both rode on. By and by they came to a town 
where the people began to jeer at them. The father 
asked them why they jeered. The man said, “Why 
do you overload the little donkey in that way?” 

The man and the boy both got off and tried to 
think of another plan. At last they cut down a pole. 
They tied the donkey’s feet together and hung him on 
the pole; then they raised the pole to their shoulders 
and went on, carrying the donkey. All who met them 
laughed, but they continued on their way until they 
came to a bridge, when the donkey kicked out and 
caused the boy to drop his end of the pole. Then the 
donkey fell over the bridge into the water and was 
drowned. “That will teach you a lesson,” said an old 
man who had followed them. “Try to please all and 
you please no one-” 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 107 



LESSON VIII 

Buying a Suit 

Salesman: 

Have yon been waited on ? 

Customer: 

No, I have not; but I should like to look 
at suits of clothes. 

Salesman: 

Come this way, please. About what 
price ? 

Customer: 

Show me a suit for about forty-five 
dollars. 

Salesman: 

Do you want a dark suit or a light one? 

Customer: 

I want a brown suit. 

Salesman: 

Brown is stylish this season. Here is a 
nice suit. Try it on to get the size. 

Customer: 

The color is too light. Show me a better 
suit in darker brown. 

Salesman: 

Here is a dark brown one. It is the best 
for the money that we have in the store. 

Customer: 

I like that one. Let me try it on. 

Salesman: 

It looks well. How does it feel? 

Customer: 

The coat is a little tight, and the sleeves 


are ten short. Let me try a size larger. 

Salesman: All right, I have one a size larger. Try 
this. 


io8 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

Customer: I like this one; it is very comfortable,. 
What is the price of it? 

Salesman: It is fifty-seven fifty, reduced from sixty- 
five. It is made of fine quality of cloth, 
and it will give you good service. 

Customer: I will take it. Can you send it out to-day ? 

Salesman: If you live in the city, I can send it out 
this afternoon. What is your name and 
the address, please? 


Customer: John Miller, 4235 Penn Avenue. 
Salesman : Cash or credit ? 


Customer: Cash. 


Salesman: I shall send it out to-day. Good-by, come 
again. 

Customer: Good-by. 


LESSON IX 
A Call on James Sotos 

Last evening I went over to the other side of the 
city to call on my old friend, James Sotos. He was 
surprised to see me, because he did not know that I 
had arrived here from Europe. We talked and talked 
for a long time. He and I came from the same 
town, and we had been school-mates in our childhood; 
we therefore had many things in common. 


THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK ^ 109 


He came here five years before I came, and if I 
had met him on the street, I should not have known 
him. He used to be tall and slender; but now he is so 
much heavier and so much jollier than he was when I 
knew him before. He told me of many amusing ex¬ 
periences that he had had shortly after he first came 
and before he had learned English. 

On the second day after his arrival he went out 
to look around the city, and as he became interested, 
he walked on and on, turning up this street and down 
that. At last he became tired, and decided that he 
would go home; but when he had gone a few blocks, 
he found that he did not recognize any of the streets- 
There he was, lost in a big city. He could not pro¬ 
nounce distinctly either the name of his street or the 
number of his house; so he was unable to inquire 
the way. Finally he met a man who he thought looked 
like a fellow-countryman. He addressed him; and 
sure enough, the man was not only a fellow-country¬ 
man, but he was also a friend of James’s brother. 

James appreciated being taken home, and that 
night he decided that he would go to school to learn 
English. So here he is to-day, speaking the language 
well and doing a good business. 


LESSON X 
Economy 

Mr. Johnson received his pay to-day, and after 
settling his bills, made a payment on his house. He 
still had some money left with which to make a small 
deposit in his savings account. He said that he could 
save more money next month because he now has 
everything that he needs for awhile. Each month he 
makes a small deposit in the bank, and he says that it 


no 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


is surprising how quickly one can save quite a sum. 

I told Jack about Mr. Johnson’s habit of saving 
money. I thought that I could persuade Jack to do 
likewise. He ought to save a little out of 
each month’s pay, but here he is without a penny. 
He is inclined to spend all that he earns and more too. 
He is always in debt and always wanting to borrow 
from his friends. It is embarrassing to refuse him 
money. Some day he will regret this extravagance, 
I am sure. But he will not take advice from anyone. 
I think, however, that I shall try once more to persuade 
him to save, because I do want him to lay up a little for 
the future. I want him to feel as I do, that a penny 
saved is a penny earned. 


LESSON XI 

Directions for Finding One’s Way 

Mr. Jones: Will you direct me to the nearest 
drug store, please? 

Policeman : Go up this street one block; turn 
to the right, and go one block; then turn to the left 
again- There you will find a drug store in the middle 
of the block, on the right side. 

Mr. Williams: Can you tell me where the post 
office is, please? 

Policeman : Yes sir. Go down this street three 
squares; then turn to your right and go one square. 
The post office is on the corner to your left. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


in 


Mrs. Williams: Will you direct me to the 
Union Station, please? 

Policeman : It is a long walk, Madam. Take 
car No. 44, and tell the conductor to let you off 
at the Union Station. 


Mrs. Rose: W'here are children's hats, please? 

Floor-walker: On the fifth floor, Madam. 
Take the elevator at the rear of the second aisle to the 
right. 


LESSON XII 
Renting a Room 

I am going down town to-night to look at a room- 
I saw a sign in the window of a nice looking house 
on the street below, and I want to go before the room 
is taken by some one else. It may be taken before to¬ 
morrow. Good-by; I shall return in a few minutes. 

Landlady: How do you do? 

Mr. Smith: How do you do? I came to look 
at your rooms. I saw the sign in the window as I 
passed this morning. 

Landlady: Come in, and I shall show them to 
you. I have one on the second floor and one on the 
third. Here is the small one; the one on the third 
floor is larger than this. 

Mr. Smith : This one does not have enough 
windows for me; I like plenty of air and plenty of 
light in my room. Show me the other one, please. 


112 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


Landlady: Let us go to the third floor; the 
room there is much larger and has three large win¬ 
dows- 

Mr. Smith : What a nice clean looking room ! I 
like this large closet too. What is the price of this 
room? 

Landlady: This room is fifteen dollars a month, 
payable in advance; two dollars a month extra during 
December, January, and February, because of the ad¬ 
ditional expense of heating and lighting. 

Mr. Smith: This room suits me; I shall take it. 
When may I come in? 

Landlady: To-morrow, if you wish. 

Mr- Smith: I shall be here to-morrow evening. 
Good-by. 

Landlady: Good-by, the room will be ready for 
you when you come. 

Here I am, back home again. I have just rented 
a better room than I have had since I came to this 
place- It is a large room on the third floor of the house 
at the corner of Wheeling and Ninth Streets. It has 
three large windows, two of which overlook the park. 
The wall paper is neat and clean, and the room is 
furnished in good taste. I am going to move in to¬ 
morrow night. Come down with me and see for your¬ 
self how cozy it is. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 113 
LESSON XIII 
John Vanos 

John Vanos came to this country eight or ten 
vears ago. He came alone, and when he had been 
here a short time, he became established in business; 
then he sent for his wife and two children, a boy and 
a girl. Now they live in a nice home on Fifth Avenue, 
and they all speak the English language very well. 
Mr. Vanos went to night school for awhile after he 
first came, and when he knew the language pretty well, 
he began business- When Mrs. Vanos and the child¬ 
ren came, the children were sent to the public schools, 
and Mr. Vanos took his wife to the same night school 
in which he had been taught. 

Now Mr. Vanos has one of the largest and best 
grocery stores on Penn Avenue. Before he came to 
this country, he was a fruit dealer, and he had had 
some experience as a store keeper. He has a large 
trade here, and people like to deal at his store. They 
say that he keeps the best and freshest vegetables that 
can be bought in the city, and that his prices are en¬ 
tirely satisfactory. His customers can always rely 
absolutely upon what he says. He delivers promptly, 
and that, too, pleases the people. 

His daughter is thirteen, and she is to be given 
a good education. She will not only be given a col¬ 
lege education, but she will be given a thorough course 
at the Musical Institute. His son is now sixteen, and 
he will soon graduate from the high school, and will 
then go to college. After his graduation there, he ex¬ 
pects to become a partner in his father’s business- It 
will be a great advantage to the son to take up a busi¬ 
ness that is so well established. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
Vanos have worked hard; but it is a great satisfaction 
to them to know that they have been able to provide 
so well for their children. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


LESSON XIV 
Familiar Quotations 

1. Never put off until to-morrow what you can do to¬ 
day. 

2. Lost time is never found again. 

3. Honesty is the best policy. 

4. Look before you leap. 

5. Haste makes waste- 

6. Rome was not built in a day. 

7. An idle brain is the devil’s workshop. 

8. Diligence is the mother of good fortune. 

9. Procrastination is the thief of time. 

10. Do unto others as you would have others do unto 
you. 

11. A good name is rather to be chosen than great 
riches. 

12. Happy is the man who lives content with his lot. 

13. It takes a long time to bring excellence to matur¬ 
ity. 

14. If you have knowledge, let others light their 
candles at it. 

15. Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will 
learn in no other. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


ns 

16. If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. 

17. If you abolish confidence between man and man, 
every human bond of union is broken. 

18. The measure of a man’s life is the well spending 
of it, and not its length. 

19. Silver and gold are not the only coin; virtue, too, 
passes current all the world over. 

20. God grants liberty to those who love it and are 
always ready to guard and defend it. 

2i- Liberty without obedience is confusion; obedience 
without liberty is slavery. 

22. Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark 
of celestial fire,—conscience, 

23. Let us have faith that right makes might; and in 
that faith let us to the end dare to do our duty 
as we understand it. 

24. Let every man be occupied, and occupied in the 
highest employment of which his nature is cap¬ 
able, and die with the consciousness that he has 
done his best. 


LESSON XV 

Christopher Columbus 

Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of America, 
was born in Genoa, a seaport of Italy, about 1430. 
father was a wool-comber; but Christopher did not 


u6 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

like that kind of life, and while still quite a boy, he de¬ 
cided to become a sailor. His father sent him to 
school until he was fourteen years old. Then he went 
to sea where he could learn seamanship. 

At that time the life of a sailor was full of ad¬ 
venture and danger; so Columbus had many exciting 
experiences. Once during a battle with a vessel off 
the coast of Portugal, he was compelled to leave his 
boat and swim to shore a long distance away. He 
afterward lived in Portugal a number of years, and 
while there, he married the daughter of a sea captain. 
For some time he earned his living, partly by making 
sea voyages and partly by drawing maps and selling 
them. 

At that time the merchants of Europe had an 
extensive trade with India; but there was no short and 
safe route of travel. Columbus had given much time 
to the study of the earth, its size, its form, and the 
locations of the different countries on it. He believed 
that the earth was a sphere, and that by sailing west¬ 
ward from Europe he could find a water route to 
India- Finally he decided to make a trial voyage. He 
went here and there in Portugal seeking help. But 
people did not think his ideas were sensible; so they 
refused him assistance. 

He then went to Spain. After waiting a long 
time, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to 
help him. At last they equipped three small vessels, 
and Columbus and his sailors set sail on their voyage 
across the Atlantic. They left the port of Palos, 
Spain, on August 3, 1492, and on Friday October 12, 
landed on an island a short distance from what 
now is Florida. This island they named San Salvador. 
They took possession of it for the king and queen of 
Spain. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK n7 

LESSON XVI 
Henry Hudson 

Henry Hudson, an English navigator who had 
won some distinction by making daring voyages, was 
employed by a company of Dutch merchants and was 
sent out on a voyage of discovery around the northern 
coast of Europe for the purpose of finding a passage 
to China. Hudson and his party set sail from the port 
of Amsterdam in 1609, and as directed by the Dutch 
Company, went toward the northeast. They sailed on 
and on through fog and ice until they became dis¬ 
couraged, when they turned around and sailed for 
America. Hudson was a friend of the great Captain 
John Smith, who had made a voyage to America, and 
had told him about it, and had given him maps show¬ 
ing routes of travel across the Atlantic. Hudson and 
his sailors finally reached the coast near the Ches¬ 
apeake Bay; but on account of stormy weather they 
did not land. Instead, they sailed northward along 
the coast until they came to the mouth of a large river. 
They entered this river and sailed up its course for 
several days; but they saw nothing of a way that 
might lead to China. However, they met some Indians 
along the river, and Hudson saw that a profitable 
business in fur trading might be started with them. 
With nothing more accomplished, they returned to 
Amsterdam leaving the name Hudson for the newly 
discovered river. 

Soon after Hudson returned and gave a report 
of his trip, some Dutch merchants sent men to es¬ 
tablish trading stations along the Hudson River where 
merchants might trade in furs with the Indians. In 
1623 several trading stations were established, and 
some forts were built. The Dutch now felt that they 
had possession of a part of America, and they named 


ii8 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


their land New Netherlands. It was decided to buy 
from the Indians, the large island at the mouth of the 
Hudson River and build a strong fort on it. This 
island, then called Manhattan, having an area of four¬ 
teen thousand acres, was bought for twenty-four dol¬ 
lars, and on it a fort was built and named New Am¬ 
sterdam. The Dutch predicted that at this place some 
time in the future would be the largest city in America. 
It is said that in 1643 eighteen different languages were 
spoken on the Island of Manhattan, and that in 1664 
the population had grown to fifteen hundred. 

The English claimed this land, held by the Dutch, 
because the Cabots had discovered it and had taken 
possession of it for England. King Charles had been 
watching the progress of the Dutch colony, and one 
day in 1664 some English vessels appeared at the 
mouth of the Hudson River and demanded that New 
Netherlands be given up to them- Because they had 
not the strength to hold out against the English, the 
Dutch had to surrender their colony. When the Eng¬ 
lish got possession of New Netherlands they changed 
its name to New York. They also changed the name 
of New Amsterdam to New York. 

The prediction of the Dutch, that here at the 
mouth of this great river sometime would stand the 
largest city in America, did come true. New York 
has become the largest city in America; and to-day it 
is one of the busiest ports in all the world. 

The year after Hudson discovered the great river, 
now called the Hudson River, he set out on another 
voyage of discovery. This time he sailed in a north¬ 
western direction from Europe in the hope of find¬ 
ing a passage through the northern part of America. 
On the way a dispute arose between Hudson and his 
sailors, and Hudson was put into a little boat and set 
adrift on the waters of the bay that now bears his 
name. Nothing afterward was ever heard of him. 


THE BEGINNERS ENGLISH BOOK 119 
LESSON XVII 
The Pilgrims 

The Pilgrims were people of England who ob¬ 
jected to the form of worship used in the Church of 
England. King James punished all who refused to 
worship according to the form of the English Church 
and to give money to its support. So objectionable 
was this to some of his subjects that they left the 
country and went to Holland in search of religious 
freedom. But they were not long satisfied with the 
change. There they were not permitted to own 
land; and then too they did not want their children 
to grow up and become Dutch-speaking people. 
They wanted above all things to remain English; 
so, dissatisfied in Holland, they soon returned to 
England with the idea of coming to America. Here 
in the wilderness they hoped to establish homes for 
themselves and to be free from restraint of religious 
faith and worship. 

With the thought of a new England in America, 
founded upon their own ideals of religious and civil 
rights, they had the courage to leave their native land 
and to cross the broad Atlantic. In that little sailing 
vessel, the Mayflower, came to America some of the 
sturdiest people that England ever produced. They 
were independent, industrious, God-fearing. Some of 
them were also learned. 

Their departure from England marks a period in 
history. 

Toward the last of November in 1620 this com¬ 
pany of about a hundred persons with Captain Miles 
Standish as their leader landed on Cape Cod, not far 
from where Boston now is. Just before the men of 
the party left the vessel, they gathered together and 
signed a compact, by which they agreed among them¬ 
selves to form a colony that should be governed by 


120 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

just and equal laws, established from time to time by 
common consent. 

A short time after landing they found a suitable 
place to live and about Christmas began to cut trees 
and build houses. Winter came on, and they were 
not prepared for its hardships. Many of them became 
ill, and about half their number died. But the sur¬ 
vivors were not the kind to give up; they were not 
easily discouraged by hardships. 

In the spring and summer following that dreadful 
winter their crops grew, and the colony prospered. 
They made friends with the Indians and feared no 
hostilities from them. They felt sure also that at last 
they had found the land that they had hoped for so 
long. In the fall they decided to have a great feast and 
to unite in giving thanks to God for the many blessings 
they had received. They invited the Indians also to 
meet with them, and all sat down together—the first 
Thanksgiving Day in America. 

These people who came in the Mayflower, as well 
as others like them who came afterward, had much 
to do with determining the character of the new nation. 
Of the Pilgrims, a great Englishman has said, “God 
sifted a whole nation that he might send choice grain 
into the wilderness. ,, 


LESSON XVIII 
Benjamin Franklin 

Benjamin Franklin was a native of Boston. He 
was bom in 1706. His father was a poor man who 
earned the living for a large family by making soap 
and candles. Benjamin was sent to school until he 
was ten years old; then he had to stop and go into 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


121 


his father's factory and help make candles. He did 
not like this kind of work; and because he was a stud¬ 
ious boy, his father put him to work in a printing office 
that was conducted by James Franklin, one of Ben¬ 
jamin's brothers. These two brothers did not get 
along well together; so Benjamin left and went to 
Philadelphia. 

With but one dollar in his pocket, he reached the 
city, and in a few days found work in a printing office. 
Although only seventeen years of age, he already had 
some knowledge of printing, and was able to do satis¬ 
factory work in a strange office. 

He continued to study; and by and by got a 
printing press of his own, and edited and printed the 
best newspaper in the colonies. He also published 
an almanac that became widely known for the wise 
proverbs it contained. Among them were these: “If 
you want a thing well done, do it yourself,” and 
“Diligence is the mother of good luck.” Although a 
busy man, he found time for study all his life. From 
one of his scientific experiments he became famous all 
over the world. By means of a kite he discovered that 
lightning and electricity were the same. 

But Franklin’s achievements were not confined to 
scientific pursuits and matters of general culture. He 
did much to promote the welfare of his city; he organ¬ 
ized the first fire company; he started the first library; 
he helped to build the first academy—now the Univer¬ 
sity of Pennsylvania. 

His influence spread even further than his own 
colony. He gave valuable assistance in conducting 
the political affairs of other colonies as well. At one 
time he was postmaster-general of all the colonies. 
On several occasions he went to Europe as the agent 
of his own colony or of others. When the colonies 
decided to become independent of England, Franklin 
helped to draft the Declaration of Independence. 


122 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


During the Revolution, when upwards of seventy 
years of age, he went to France as agent for the 
colonies and procured for them funds with which to 
pay the soldiers. He helped to make the treaty which 
ended the war. Afterwards, although eighty-one 
years old, he took a foremost part in framing the Con¬ 
stitution of the United States in 1787. He died three 
years later at the age of eighty-four. 


LESSON XIX 
George Washington 

George Washington, the first president of the 
United States, was born on a plantation in Virginia, 
on February 22, 1732. At the death of his father, 
George, who was then only eleven years old, was left 
along with his brothers and sisters in the care of his 
mother. He went to a little country school, where he 
learned to read and to do sums in arithmetic. He was 
a good student and a great favorite with his playmates. 

Lawrence Washington, George’s eldest brother, 
had married a Miss Fairfax, whose father lived in 
Virginia and was a relative of Lord Fairfax, a rich 
land owner of the colony. When George was fourteen 
years of age, Lawrence took him to visit Lord Fairfax. 
This old man of sixty took a liking to George, and 
they became great friends. Lord Fairfax had been 
told that people were settling on his land, a hundred 
miles or so west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Wash¬ 
ington was then sixteen, and had some knowledge of 
surveying; so Fairfax employed him to go over the 
mountains and measure the land and establish the 
boundary lines. Washington did his work so well that 
he Governor of Virginia afterward employed him as 
public surveyor for the colony. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


123 


A little later the French tried to establish them¬ 
selves west of the Allegheny Mountains, and they be¬ 
gan to build forts along the rivers. The Governor 
of Virginia gave Washington, who was then twenty- 
one years old, the military title of major, and sent him 
to order the French to leave this territory. The entire 
distance there and back was about a thousand miles. 
Washington, accompanied by one white man and 
several friendly Indians as guides, had to pass through 
thick forests and across mountains and broad rivers 
full of floating ice. Then too, many of the Indians in 
the region that Washington and his men passed 
through had allied themselves with the French to fight 
against the English. Washington was a strong, brave 
young man, and he made his way safely to the French 
headquarters. He informed the French commander 
of the object of his visit, but the French refused to 
leave. When the answer was brought back to the 
Governor of Virginia, Washington was made colonel 
and sent out with an army of one hundred and fifty 
men to drive the French from the territory near the 
junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. 
At first the English were defeated. But this war, 
called the French and Indian War, lasted several 
years, and resulted in the English getting possession 
of the land from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River. 

A few years later the American colonies had a 
war with England. The war was begun by the col¬ 
onists, chiefly because of certain grievances about 
taxes, and was brought on by the acts of George III, 
Mr. Grenville, and Lord North. It lasted eight years 
and resulted in the independence of the colonies. 

Shortly after the war ended the people of all the 
colonies formed a new nation, preserving the colonies, 
however, as independent states for certain functions 
of government. By common consent they selected 
George Washington to be the first president, recog- 


124 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

nizing him as pre-eminent among his fellow-coun¬ 
trymen, as well as relying still on his hand to guide 
them in their new venture in government. 

The verdict of his fellow-countrymen has been 
approved by the judgment of history. He was, in¬ 
deed, as Henry Lee said of him at the time of his 
death, “First in war, first in peace, and first in the 
hearts of his countrymen.” 


LESSON XX 
Abraham Lincoln 

Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of 
the United States. He was born in Hardin County, 
Kentucky, on February 12, 1809. His father was a 
poor pioneer, who had a small piece of barren land 
in the backwoods. When Abe was seven years old 
the family moved to Indiana. Here also the land was 
uncultivated, and Lincoln’s father had to clear the 
lot where their new home was to be. He cut the trees 
and made the logs out of which he built a crude 
dwelling. Winter came on before the cabin was fin¬ 
ished, and the Lincoln family was compelled to live 
through the cold months with only three sides of the 
cabin enclosed. By the next winter they had built a 
better house, which they furnished with new furniture 
hewn from rough logs, and when they moved into 
this new home they were more comfortable than they 
had ever been before. The hardships of pioneer life, 
however, were too much for Lincoln’s mother, who 
died soon after they had moved into their new home. 
To little Abe this was a great sorrow—a sorrow that 
he felt as long as he lived. It was also a great loss to 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 

him. His loss was in part made up to him from the 
fact that his father married soon again, and his new 
mother was a kind woman, who took a great interest 
in Abe and helped him make the best of his limited 
opportunities. Lincoln went to school at intervals 
from his eighth year to his fifteenth year. The total 
amount of schooling which he received was less 
than a year. 

It was necessary for him to earn his living at a 
very early age. When only eight years old 
he is said to have cut the fire-wood that was used in 
their cabin; and from that time on, to have worked 
in the forest, at first helping to cut logs, and after¬ 
wards splitting rails. This work he did for neighbors 
in order that he might earn money. 

Corn and other products of that region were at 
that time taken to market by flat-boat down the Ohio 
and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. Lincoln was 
employed by a neighbor to go on one of these voyages, 
two thousand miles by flat-boat. On the trip he had 
many wonderful experiences. Once while at New 
Orleans he saw negro slaves bought and sold at public 
auction in the market place. This sight made a pro¬ 
found impression on him, which he never forgot. 

When he returned home, the family moved to 
Illinois. Here again they had to build a log cabin. 
Soon after their arrival Lincoln became the village 
postmaster. His duties did not occupy all of his time; 
so he began the study of law. It is said that he walked 
a distance of twenty miles to borrow law books from a 
friend. By and by he practised law. He was by 
nature sympathetic, earnest, and sincere, as well as 
honest in his dealings. He was also ambitious 
and a natural leader, masterful, though unobtrusive. 


126 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


From a very early age he won general confidence 
and respect. In the practice of law he had great suc¬ 
cess as an advocate. At twenty-five he was elected to 
the state legislature. It is said that when he went into 
office he walked to the capitol, because he was too 
poor to hire a horse. He was a member of the legis¬ 
lature for eight years. A little later he represented 
his district in Congress for a term. A short time 
after that he became a candidate for United States 
senator against Stephen A. Douglas, by whom he was 
defeated. During the campaign the candidates held a 
series of memorable debates, in which they discussed 
the slavery question. 

Lincoln was elected president of the United 
States in i860. His election was received throughout 
the South with general disappointment and dismay, be¬ 
cause the people there thought that Lincoln would 
oppose the holding of slaves by the people of any state. 
Soon the southern states tried to secede, and the great 
Civil War was on. It began in 1861, and in 1862 
Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, by 
which he set free all the slaves held within any state 
that was in rebellion against the United States. The 
war ended in April 1865, and it was Lincoln’s efforts 
more than anyone else’s that saved the nation. 

About the time the war ended, Lincoln was shot 
at the theater by an assassin. He died the next morn¬ 
ing, and his body was laid to rest in Springfield, Ill¬ 
inois. After the burial service the Second Inaugural 
Address was read over his grave; and as Lord Charn- 
wood says in his biography of Lincoln, what better 
words than his own could have been chosen to 
honor One who ‘with malice toward none, with 
charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God 
gave him to see the right, had striven on to finish 
the work he was in.’ 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


127 


LESSON XXI 

President Lincoln's Letter to Mrs. Bixbv 

A SPECIMEN OF PERFECT ENGLISH 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864. 

To Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Mass. 

Dear Madam: 

I have been shown in the files of the War Depart¬ 
ment a statement of the Adjutant General of Massa¬ 
chusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have 
died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak 
and fruitless must be any word of mine which should 
attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so over¬ 
whelming- But I cannot refrain from tendering you 
the consolation that may be found in the thanks of 
the republic they died to save. I pray that' our 
Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your 
bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory 
of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must 
be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the 
altar of freedom. 

Yours very sincerely and respectfully. 

A. Lincoln. 

LESSON XXII 

Preamble to the Constitution of the 
United States 

We, the people of the United States, in order to 
form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure 
domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, 
promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings 
of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and 
establish this Constitution for the United States of 
America. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


AMERICA 

My country, ’tis of thee 
Sweet land of liberty, 

Of thee I sing; 

Land where my fathers died, 
Land of the Pilgrim’s pride, 
From ev’ry mountain side, 
Let freedom ring. 

My native country, thee, 

Land of the noble free, 

Thy name I love; 

I love thy rocks and rills, 

Thv woods and templed hills, 
My heart with rapture thrills, 
Like that above. 

Let music swell the breeze, 
And ring from all the trees, 
Sweet freedom’s song; 
Let mortal tongues awake, 

Let all that breathe partake, 
Let rocks their silence break, 
The sound prolong. 

Our father’s God, to Thee, 
Author of liberty, 

To Thee we sing; 

Long may our land be bright 
With freedom’s holy light, 
Protect us by Thy might, 
Great God, our King. 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 129 

STAR SPANGLED BANNER 

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn’s early light, 

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleam¬ 
ing? 

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro’ the peril¬ 
ous fight, 

O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly 
streaming ? 

And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air. 
Gave proof thro’ the night that our flag was still there. 

Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave 
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave ? 

On the shore, dimly seen thro’ the mists of the deep, 
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes. 
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep, 
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? 

Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam, 
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream: 

’Tis the star-spangled banner: oh, long may it wave 
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave? 

Oh, thus be it e’er when free men shall stand 
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation; 
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued 
land 

Praise the Pow’r that has made and preserved us a 
nation! 

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just; 

And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!” 

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave 
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave! 






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APPENDIX 


132 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


Numerals 


Notation 

Notation 

Ordinals 

I. 

i 

one 

ist 

first 

IL 

2 

two 

2nd 

second 

III. 

3 

three 

3rd 

third 

IV. 

4 

four 

4th 

fourth 

V. 

5 

five 

5 th 

fifth 

VI. 

6 

six 

6th 

sixth 

VII. 

7 

seven 

7th 

seventh 

VIII. 

8 

eight 

8th 

eighth 

IX. 

9 

nine 

9th 

ninth 

X. 

IO 

ten 

10th 

tenth 

XI. 

ii 

eleven 

nth 

eleventh 

XII. 

12 

twelve 

12th 

twelfth 

XIII. 

13 

thirteen 

13th 

thirteenth 

XIV. 

14 

fourteen 

14th 

fourteenth 

XV. 

i 5 

fifteen 

15th 

fifteenth 

XVI. 

16 

sixteen 

16th 

sixteenth 

XVII. 

1 7 

seventeen 

17th 

seventeenth 

XVIII. 

18 

eighteen 

18th 

eighteenth 

XIX. 

19 

nineteen 

19th 

nineteenth 

XX. 

20 

twenty 

20th 

twentieth 

XXI. 

21 

twenty-one 

2 ist 

twenty-first 

XXX. 

30 

thirty 

30th 

thirtieth 

XL. 

40 

forty 

40th 

fortieth 

L. 

50 

fifty 

50th 

fiftieth 

LX. 

6o 

sixty 

60th 

sixtieth 

LXX. 

70 

seventy 

70th 

seventieth 

LXXX. 

So 

eighty 

80th 

eightieth 

XC. 

90 

ninety 

. 90th 

ninetieth 

C. 

IOO 

one hundred 

1 ooth 

one hundredth 

D. 

500 

five hundred 

500th 

five hundredth 

M. 

IOOO 

one thousand 

1 oooth 

one thousandth 

MM. 

2000 

two thousand 

2000th 

two thousandth 

V. 

5000 

five thousand 

5000th 

five thousandth 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 133 
Numerical Expressions and Signs 

I. ADDITION 

Two plus three equals five. 
2 + 3=5 

Problem in addition:— 246 addend 
468 addend 
234 addend 
948 sum or amount 

II. SUBTRACTION 

Ten minus six equals four. 

10 — 6 ~ 4 

Problem in subtraction :—7 5 3 minuend 

432 subtrahend 
321 difference or remain¬ 
der. 

Til. multiplication 

Four multiplied by two equals eight. 

4 X 2 = 8 

Problem in multiplication:— 2453 multiplicand 

2 3 multiplier 

7 3 5 9 

4906 

56419 product 

IV. division 

Ten divided by two equals five. 

IO -r- 2 = 5 

SHORT DIVISION 

Divisor 6 ) 12342 dividend 


2057 quotient 







134 THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 


LONG DIVISION 


2502 quotient 

Divisor 25)62552 dividend 
5 Q 
1 2 5 
1 2 5 

5 2 

_ 5 _o 

2 remainder 


COMMON FRACTIONS 

One (1) is a unit or a whole number. 

One half (f/2) is a fractional part of a thing. 

1. One half plus one half equals one. 

YzArV ^—I 

2. One fourth plus one fourth plus one fourth plus 
one fourth equals one. 

^4 —|— ^4 —|— % —j— ^4 —I 

3. One half of twenty is ten. 

Yz of 20—10 

4. One third of fifteen equals five. 

i/3 of 15=5 ;Y 

5. One fourth of eight equals two. 

1/4 of 8 =2 

6. Two fourths of eight equals four. 

2/4 of 8—4 

7. Three fourths of eight equals six. 

3/4 of 8=6 

1/4 is a mixed number. 

11 numerator 
/ 2 denominator 






THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 135 


Decimal Fractions 


.1 

1/10 

one tenth 

.01 

1/100 

one hundredth 

.001 

1/1000 

one thousandth 

.0001 

1/10000 

one ten-thousandth 

.00001 

1/100000 

one hundred-thousandth 

1.1 

one and one tenth 

10.01 

ten and one hundredth 

100.001 

one hundred and one thousandth 

1000.0001 one thousand and one ten-thousandth 


t 0000.00001 ten thousand and one hundred-thousandth 
t 000000.000001 one million and one millionth 


Common Weights and Measures 

LONG MEASURE TABLE 


12 inches (in.) 
3 feet 
16^ feet 
320 rods 
5280 feet 


1 foot (ft.). 

1 yard (yd.). 
1 rod (rd.). 

1 mile (mi.). 
1 mile. 


SQUARE MEASURE TABLE 


144 square inches (sq. in.) 1 


9 square feet 1 

30^4 square yards, or 

272^ square feet 1 

160 square rods 1 

640 acres 1 


square foot (sq. ft.), 
square yard (sq.yd.). 

square rod (sq.rd.). 
acre (A.). 

square mile (sq. m.). 


CUBIC MEASURE TABLE 


1728 cubic inches (cu. in.) i cubic foot (cu. ft.). 
27 cubic feet i cubic yard (cu. yd.). 


.136 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 



DRY MEASURE TABLE 

2 pints (pt.) 

i quart (qt.). 

8 quarts 

i peck (pk.). 

4 pecks 

i bushel ( bu.). 


LIQUID MEASURE TABLE 

4 gills (gi.) 

i pint. 

2 pints 

i quart (qt.). 

4 quarts 

i gallon (gal.). 


AVOIRDUPOIS WEIGHT TABLE 
16 ounces (oz.) i pound (lb.), 

ioo pounds i hundredweight (cwt.). 

20 hundredweight i ton (T.). 

Adjectives and Adverbs of Irregular 



Comparison 



adjectives 


Positive 

Comparative 

Superlative 

bad (evil, ill) 

worse 

worst 

far 

farther 

farthest 

good 

better 

best 

late 

later, latter 

last 

well (in health) 

better 


little 

less, lesser 

least 

much, many 

more 

most 


ADVERBS 


far 

farther 

farthest 

forth 

further 

furthest 


THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 137 


ill 

worse 

worst 

badly 

worse 

worst 

well 

better 

best 

late 

later 

latest 

little 

less 

least 

much 

more 

most 


Personal Pronouns 

THE PRONOUN OF THE FIRST PERSON : / 

Singular Number Plural Number 

Nominative Case I we 

Possessive Case my or mine our or ours 
Objective Case me us 

THE PRONOUN OF THE SECOND PERSON : yOU , 

Singular Number Plural Number 

Nominative Case you you 

Possessive Case your or yours your or yours 
Objective Case you you 

THE PRONOUN OF THE THIRD PERSON : he, she, it 


Singular 

Masculine 

Number 

Feminine 

Neuter 

Plural Number 
all genders 

Nom. 

he 

she 

it 

they 

Poss. 

his 

her or hers 

its 

their or theirs 

Obj. 

him 

her 

it 

them 


PRINCIPAL PARTS AND CONJUGATION OF 
THE VERB WRITE 


Pres.—write, 


Past—wrote, Past Part.—written 


i 3 8 THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


Indicative Mood 

PRESENT TENSE 

Plural Number 
We write 
You write 
They write 

PAST TENSE 

We wrote 
You wrote 
They wrote 

FUTURE TENSE 

1. I shall write We shall write 

2. You will write You will write 

3. He will write They will write 

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE 

1. I have written We have written 

2. You have written You have written 

3. He has written They have written 

PAST PERFECT TENSE 

1. I had written We had written 

2. You had written You had written 

3. He had written They had written 

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE 

1. I shall have written We shall have written 

2. You will have written You will have written 

3.. He will have written They will have written 


1. I wrote 

2. You wrote 

3. He wrote 


Singular Number 

1. I write 

2. You write 

3. He writes 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


139 


Principal Parts and Conjugation 
of The Verb To Be. 

Present—am, Past—was, Present Participle— 

being, Past Participle—been 

Indicative Mood 


PRESENT TENSE 


Singular Number 


Plural Number 


1. I am 

2. You are 

3. He is 


We are 
You are 
They are 


1. I was 

2. You were 

3. He was 


PAST TENSE 

We were 
You were 
They were 




FUTURE TENSE 


1. I shall be We shall be 

2. You will be You will be 

3. He will be They will be 


PERFECT (OR PRESENT PERFECT) TENSE 


1. I have been 

2. You have been 

3. He has been 


We have been 
You have been 
They have been 


PLUPERFECT (OR PAST PERFECT) TENSE 


1. I had been 

2. You had been 

3. He had been 


We had been 
You had been 
They had been 


i 4 o THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 


FUTURE PERFECT TENSE 


1. I shall have been We shall have been 

2. You will have been You will have been 

3. He will have been They will have been 


LIST OF VERBS 


Present 

Past 

Past 

Present 

Tense 

Tense 

Participle 

Participle 

am 

was 

been 

being 

arise 

arose 

arisen 

arising 

awake 

awoke, awaked 

awaked 

awaking 

bear 

bore 

borne, born bearing 

beat 

beat 

beaten 

beating 

begin 

began 

begun 

beginning 

behold 

beheld 

beheld 

beholding 

bend 

bent 

bent 

bending 

beseech 

besought 

besought 

beseeching 

bet 

bet 

bet 

betting 

bid 

bade 

bidden 

bidding 

bind 

bound 

bound 

binding 

bite 

bit 

bitten 

biting 

bleed 

bled 

bled 

bleeding 

blow 

blew 

blown 

blowing 

break 

broke 

broken 

breaking 

bring 

brought 

brought 

bringing 

build 

built 

built 

building 

burn 

burned, burnt 

burned, 

burnt 

burning 

burst 

burst 

burst 

bursting 

buy 

bought 

bought 

buying 

catch 

caught 

caught 

catching 

choose 

chose 

chosen 

choosing 

cling 

clung 

clung 

clinging 

come 

came 

come 

coming 

cost 

cost 

cost 

costing 

creep 

crept 

crept 

creeping 

cut 

cut 

cut 

cutting 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 141 


Present 

Past 

Past 

Present 

Tense 

Tense 

Participle 

Participle 

dare 

dared 

dared 

daring 

deal 

dealt 

dealt 

dealing 

dig 

dug 

dug 

digging 

do 

did 

done 

doing 

draw 

drew 

drawn 

drawing 

dream 

dreamed, 

dreamed, 

dreaming 


dreamt 

dreamt 


dress 

dressed 

dressed 

dressing 

drink 

drank 

drunk 

drinking 

drive 

drove 

driven 

driving 

dwell 

dwelt 

dwelt 

dwelling 

eat 

ate 

eaten 

eating 

fall 

fell 

fallen 

falling 

feed 

fed 

fed 

feeding 

feel 

felt 

felt 

feeling 

fight 

fought 

fought 

fighting . 

find 

found 

found 

finding 

flee 

fled 

fled 

fleeing 

fling 

flung 

flung 

flinging,..,. 

fly 

flew 

flown 

flying 

forget 

forgot 

forgotten 

forgetting 

forsake 

forsook 

forsaken 

forsaking. 

freeze 

froze 

frozen 

freezing 

get 

got 

got 

getting 

give 

gave 

given 

giving 

go 

went 

gone 

going 

grind 

ground 

ground 

grinding 

grow 

grew 

grown 

growing. 

hang 

hung, hanged 

hung,hanged hanging 

have 

had 

had 

having 

hear 

heard 

heard 

hearing 

hew 

hewed 

hewn 

hewing 

hide 

hid 

hidden 

hiding 

hold 

held 

held 

holding 

hurt 

hurt 

hurt 

hurting. 


14 2 THE 

BEGINNER’S 

ENGLISH BOOK 

Present 

Past 

Past 

Present 

Tense 

Tense 

Participle 

Participle 

keep 

kept 

kept 

keeping 

kneel 

kneeled, knelt 

kneeled, 
knelt 

kneeling 

knit 

knit, knitted 

knit, knitted 

knitting 

know 

knew 

known 

knowing 

lay 

laid 

laid 

laying 

lead 

led 

led 

leading 

learn 

learned, learnt 

learned, 

learnt 

learning 

leave 

left 

left 

leaving 

lend 

lent 

lent 

lending 

let 

let 

let 

letting 

lie (recline) lay 

lain 

lying 

lie (to tell a 
falsehood) 

lied 

lied 

lying 

light 

lighted, lit 

lighted, lit 

lighting 

lose 

lost 

lost 

losing 

make 

made 

made 

making 

mean 

meant 

meant 

meaning 

meet 

met 

met 

meeting 

pay 

paid 

paid 

paying 

put 

put 

put 

putting 

quit 

quit 

quit 

quitting 

read 

read 

read 

reading 

rid 

rid 

rid 

ridding 

ride 

rode 

ridden 

riding 

ring 

rang 

rung 

ringing 

rise 

rose 

risen 

rising 

run 

ran 

run 

running 

say 

said 

said 

saying 

see 

saw 

seen 

seeing 

seek 

sought 

sought 

seeking 

sell 

sold 

sold 

selling 

send 

sent 

sent 

sending 

set 

set 

set 

setting 

sew 

sewed 

sewed, sewrt sewing 


THE BEGINNER’S ENGLISH BOOK 143 


Present 

Past 

Past 

Present 

Tense 

Tense 

Participle 

Participle 

shake 

shook 

shaken 

shaking 

shave 

shaved 

shaved 

shaving 

shed 

shed 

shed 

shedding 

shine 

shone 

shone 

shining- 

shoot 

shot 

shot 

shooting 

show 

showed 

shown 

showing 

shrink 

shrank 

shrunk 

shrinking 

shut 

shut 

shut 

shutting 

sing 

sang 

sung 

singing 

sink 

sank 

sunk 

sinking 

sit 

sat 

sat 

sitting 

slay- 

slew 

slain 

slaying 

sleep 

slept 

slept 

sleeping 

slide 

slid 

slid, slidden sliding 

sling 

slung 

slung 

slinging 

smell 

smelled, smelt 

smelled, 

smelt 

smelling 

sow 

sowed 

sowed, sown sowing 

speak 

spoke 

spoken 

speaking 

spell 

spelled, spelt 

spelled, spelt spelling 

spend 

spent 

spent 

spending 

spill 

spilled, spilt 

spilled, spilt 

spilling 

spin 

spun 

spun 

spinning 

spit 

spit 

spit 

spitting 

split 

split 

split 

splitting 

spoil 

spoiled, spoilt 

spoiled, 

spoilt 

spoiling 

spread 

spread 

spread 

spreading 

spring 

sprang 

sprung 

springing 

stand 

stood 

stood 

standing 

stay 

stayed 

stayed 

staying 

steal 

stole 

stolen 

stealing 

stick 

stuck 

stuck 

sticking 

sting 

stung 

stung 

stineing 

stink 

stunk 

stunk 

stinking 

strew 

strewed 

strewn 

strewing 


THE BEGINNER'S ENGLISH BOOK 


144 


Present 

Past 

Tense 

Tense 

strike 

struck 

string 

strung 

strive 

strove 

swear 

swore 

sweat 

sweated, sweat 

sweep 

swept 

swell 

swelled 

swim 

swam 

take 

took 

teach 

taught 

tear 

tore 

tell 

told 

think 

thought 

thrive 

throve, thrived 

thrust 

thrust 

tread 

trod 

wake 

woke, waked 

wear 

wore 

weave 

wove 

wed 

wedded 

win 

won 

wind 

wound 

wring 

wrung 

write 

wrote 


Past 

Present 

Participle 

Participle 

struck 

striking 

strung 

stringing 

striven 

striving 

sworn 

swearing 

sweated, 

sweating 

sweat 

swept 

sweeping 

swelled. 

swelling 

swollen 

swum 

swimming 

taken 

taking 

taught 

teaching 

torn 

tearing 

told 

telling 

thought 

thinking 

thriven, 

thriving 

thrived 

thrust 

thrusting 

trodden 

treading 

woke, 

waking 

waked 

worn 

wearing 

woven 

weaving 

wedded 

wedding 

won 

winning 

wound 

winding 

wrung 

wringing 

written 

writing 
























































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